The Royal Shakespeare Company production of Antony and Cleopatra is made dramatic and distinctive by a strong triumvirate of male performances topped by Patrick Stewart's electric Antony. Passionate, emotional, lusty and exuberant, this is quite a change from Stewart's cerebral roles in "Star Trek" and Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan. Yes, he has grey hair (as Shakespeare's text specifies), but his body is lean, and his movements are athletic.
His female counterpart, Harriet Walker as Cleopatra, is not at all in Stewart's league. She captures Cleopatra's capriciousness but is not sufficiently exotic nor regal. The production is in traditional Roman-period costume and is spiced by singing, dancing and rapid sweeps of action across the stage.
Ariyon Bakare as Pompey, James Hayes as Lepidus and John Hopkins as Octavius are strong competitors for supremacy in ruling the Roman empire. Golda Rosheuval as Charmian, Cleopatra's chief attendant, is star material, projecting glamour, exoticism and strength.
