Theatre Review: Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra

National Theatre, London SE1

Helen Mirren is excellent. She alone makes the verse resonate. As for the rest, Alan Rickman's Anthony shows little of the struggle between love and responsibility and is often inaudible. A costume which emphasised his status would have helped but the drab set and costume designs do him no favours. Sean Mathias's frankly poor direction allows some strikingly bad acting and his production's woeful lack of ideas means the cast drift through this complex (but great) play with little sense of purpose. To be forgotten.