Ralph Fiennes (Mark Antony) and Sophie Okonedo (Cleopatra) stand out in a fast-moving adaptation of the iconic tragedy. Slow to start and a little too traditional for my taste, it grows into itself, until tension boils over and the slippery language of politics becomes sharp and intense.
Courtesy of Johan Persson.
A crisp autumn frost is settling on the forecourt leading to the Barbican Centre. With it’s extensive brutalist architecture, the building itself is a much needed fort against the onslaught of winter. Tucked away in the Barbican Kitchen I am sat with actor Amber James, who in three weeks will be taking to the Barbican stage as Charmian in the RCS’s Antony and Cleopatra. Fresh from a run as Anna in Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage she’s looking forward to a few weeks of rest before she takes to the stage again. It feels perfect to be meeting Amber at the Barbican, just a stone’s throw away from Guildhall, the training ground that has helped propel her in the illustrious career that is falling at her feet.