Cymbeline Review

Cymbeline, directed by Melly Still (RSC - National Theatre 

Live): 'A Confident Adaptation' -★★★

   There's a lot to like in this confident adaptation of Shakespeare's rarely performed Romance, Cymbeline. In typical National Theatre style, no expense has been spared and the performance is teeming with extras, musical numbers and sumptuous staging.

   What stands out immediately are director Melly Still's casting choices. Oliver Johnstone as Iachimo gives a stunning performance that is at once villainous and vulnerable to a degree usually reserved for portrayals of Shylock or Richard III. Johnstone manages to make the key, essentially solo, scene in Act Two in which he creeps around Innogen's room at night humorous without losing a sinister sense of invasion. As well as this, his transition from amorous cad to apologetic coward is beautifully handled.

   Bethan Cullinane's Innogen is also worth note for an emotional performance in the latter half of the play which more than makes up for an overwrought first half. Her performance is crowned with a stunning scene in which she smears the blood of Cloten on her face, believing it to be that of her erstwhile husband. Cloten himself, played ably by Marcus Griffiths, injects some much-needed humour into the scenes at the English court and shares with Johnstone the fine balance between comic relief and sympathy.

   This being said, not every performance is brilliant. Hiran Abeysekera as Posthumus is alternately overwrought and listless, and Gillian Bevan as Cymbeline always appears more like a harassed mother than a regal queen.

   Bevan's performance brings me to what is a significant issue in the play – the fact that Still has made Cymbeline female. Gender swaps are not something with which I generally have an issue but I would suggest that this particular swap is poorly thought through. All Still has achieved here is to give one of the most significant and defiant female speeches in Shakespeare ('that opportunity…', Act Three, Scene One) and give it to a man. This seems counter intuitive. As well as this, a great deal is lost in the relationship between Innogen and the Queen (now the Duke). This is not to say that there is an issue with gender swaps in general; making Pisanio female allows Kelly Williams to bring a great deal of charm to a role that could easily have been just an afterthought.

   There are some other directorial changes that don't quite work. The post-apocalyptic setting deserves note. It could do with a bit more commitment from Still – Rome seems fine, after all. As well as this, it adds nothing to the play other than an excuse for fashionably eclectic costumes. The use of humming lights and freezing for soliloquies is also quite jarring.

   I will end with some notes on the experience of seeing the play in the cinema rather than the theatre. I have seen several of the National Theatre Live streamed performances and I have to say that this was not one of the most successful performances I have seen. This is chiefly due to the fact that many of the Rome scenes were spoken in Latin. While I applaud the effort, the subtitles projected on to the back wall were impossible to read.

   All in all this was a fairly good performance. The actors were a mixed bag and there were some poor directorial choices but these two facts did little to change the fact that this is a largely enjoyable adaptation with a lot to like and, with some months still to run, there is plenty of time to see it.

After a run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Cymbeline transfers to London's Barbican Theatre from 31 October - 17 December 2016.

If an academic edition of the play is required then I recommend the Oxford World's Classics edition. It is the most recent good quality edition and has an excellent introduction by Roger Warren. I often favour the Arden Shakespeare editions but their Cymbeline was published in 1955 so should be avoided until it is updated. The Oxford edition can be purchased here.