Battle of intellect and passion out in the open
A timeless love story: Andre Howson and Piorina Fernando in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’
Love, politics and the power play between the sexes: The Workshop Players’ Antony and Cleopatra promises to be more than a bold, exotic love story.
This year’s edition of Shakespeare in the Park will explore Shakespeare’s legendary tragic love story, the production directed by Tracy Holsinger-award winning director, teacher and founding member of Mind Adventures and produced by Jerome L. De Silva.
While the play was chosen- keeping in mind its academic relevance to A/L and university students, the idea of bringing the toxic power couple’s story to the stage has been a dream of Jerome’s for decades. When he took over years ago as director of drama at St. Peter’s College his first win for the school was with the iconic ‘asp’ scene from Antony and Cleopatra starring future thespians and performers such as Shannon Raymond in the young cast.
When we catch a glimpse of the rehearsals at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre, the venue adds to the play’s intensity and nostalgia. Watching the practice from the high seats of the amphitheatre, director Tracy was equally passionate about the choice of play. “The characters are deeply complex. It’s also about loyalty, leadership and honour.” While the drama centres around one of literature’s most iconic love stories, the appeal of the play she reminds us goes beyond the titular characters- exploring themes that resonate at the very core of the human experience.
Playing the equally demanding leads are Piorina Fernando and Andre Howson. No strangers to theatre having dabbled in musicals, serious drama and comedy, it was with Shakespeare in the Park that the thespians got their first real taste of Shakespearean drama.
“I hadn’t been exposed to blank verse before,” admits Piorina who took on the role of Portia in the first Shakespeare in the Park production, “The Merchant of Venice”. Andre’s roots in Shakespeare go back to school productions but he never anticipated the true weight of a Shakespeare play till he joined the cast of “The Merchant of Venice” and continued with “Macbeth”, “Othello” and “Tempest”.
Playing the dynamic Queen can be emotionally draining admits Piorina. Described as one of Shakespeare’s most complex female characters Cleopatra is more than a smoky eyed Elizabeth Taylor or the femme fatale like figure she has been personified as. “She is far ahead of Antony on an intellectual level. She was so ahead of her time,” Piorina says.
In reality, Cleopatra VII was a skilled diplomat versed in several languages. Greek writer Plutarch is even recorded as describing “The character that attended all she said or did was something bewitching.”
Throughout the play, we watch the two tango with love, passion and their own agendas.
“The tragedy is that they betray each other for power,” adds Tracy. For Andre, Antony is a fading hero who knows Cleopatra is far ahead of him intellectually. A celebrated warrior and flawed statesman, we watch Antony slip into a downward spiral throughout the play. The inevitable tragedy Andre points out “you know they’re going to crash and burn. They can stop it at any point, but they don’t.”
These days the duo is tackling the many layers around their characters and unearthing details about them that make the play relevant even to a present day audience in Colombo.
For Jerome, the play is timelier than ever- a chance to explore a passionate, powerful female leader, “who threatens the male psyche.”
The Workshop Players present Shakespeare in the Park- Antony and Cleopatra at theViharamahadevi Open Air Theatre on April 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. Entrance is free.