RSC Live: Antony and Cleopatra (2017)

On Monday, July 17, 2017 as part of the Talks and Screenings at the Folger, the Folger hosted a screening of RSC Live: Antony and Cleopatra, a live cinema broadcast from the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Company, captured from Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, in their own Elizabethan Theatre. The production was directed by Iqbal Khan and starring Antony Byrne as Antony and Josette Simon as Cleopatra.

Shakespeare’s tragedy of love and duty, picks up the Roman saga where Julius Caesar ends. Following Caesar’s assassination, Mark Antony has reached the heights of power. Now he has neglected his empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Torn between love and duty, Antony’s military brilliance deserts him, and his passion leads the lovers to their tragic end.

For more information on the production, visit the RSC archives here.

The Royal Shakespeare Company

Everyone at the Royal Shakespeare Company, from actors to technicians, milliners to musicians, plays a part in creating the world audience members see on stage. RSC's work begins its life at their Stratford workshops and theatres and they share it with audiences across the world through touring, residencies and online activity. So, wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work that is made in Shakespeare’s home town in the UK. Shakespeare has been performed and celebrated in Stratford for centuries and the RSC has trained generations of the very best theatre makers since the Company was founded in 1961. RSC pioneers contemporary approaches to Shakespeare’s plays, as well as staging the work of those who inspired him and the work of today’s playwrights. Learn more about RSC Live here.