And so, we move indoors, transforming CHRISTCHURCH, Purley into Ancient Rome & Egypt. Wiggy and Ray's CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE looks great in the space and we have reblocked the show to suit the venue. The cast have been phenomenal and we are excited to bring our production to head up The Purley Festival. Come and see us in action! 7.45pm start, with 15 minute pre-show.

In the words of the great man himself, “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now,” unless you were one of the happy few who saw Another Way Theatre’s production of “Antony and Cleopatra” in Caterham. 

Cole Porter’s advice jars - ”If your blonde won’t respond when you flatter’er, /Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer” – because every word of admiration bestowed by the two protagonists (Chris & Nicky Chambers) upon each other was full of heartfelt sincerity, all the more cheering when we contrast this modest husband and wife team from Warlingham and their modest (but convincing) budget production with the lavish extravaganza of the notorious Burton-Taylor film of the same story. 

Jean Hammond’s costumes were exquisite, the music suitably exotic, with snake-like elements during the biggest asp-disaster scene.

Props were fine – Cleopatra’s love couch, smoke for battles, ship sails, torches for the darker moments and bleakly auguring black crows.

We start with Blind Man’s Buff, symbolizing A & C’s escapism, not surprising when we later hear of what a toughie celebrity soldier Antony (Chris Chambers) used to be.

All the cast were impressive even if the greatest star was inevitably Shakespeare himself. How fresh and meaningful was the language, and how well interpreted! The lovers’ obsession brings out the bard’s creative best: “There’s beggary in the love that can be reckon’d.”

“Eternity was in our lips and eyes.”

“So I hence fleeting here remain with thee.” (So much psychological truth is held in the oxymoron!)

Unforgettable too is the mental picture, inspiring so much painting, of Cleopatra’s arrival by barge.

And does this sound familiar? – “Age cannot wither her…”

What has “a gypsy’s lust” done to Antony? Octavian (Luke Walsh) speaks with genuine admiration of how he had been “so like a soldier”. The future Augustus came across as a really 3D personality, genuinely caring for his sister but always shrewd in politics.

Maecenas (Dan Avery), future Minister of Culture, made a convincing soldier, counsellor and messenger. His being whipped contrasted the restoration of treasure to Enobarbus (Andrew Fitch), indicating respectively the dark and generous sides of Antony’s character. In this, he matches Cleopatra’s (Nicky Chambers) unpredictability (though sometimes hers is deliberate, as in her coquettish behaviour towards him). 

It has been said that conflict is the essence of drama. So we get civil war, the clash between the individual and the state, duty and inclination, arranged marriage and adultery, sobriety and drunkenness (particularly demonstrated by Caesar and Lepidus (Robert Rowe), promises and politics.

My favourite moment? When Cleopatra speaks of the now dead Antony: “His legs bestrid the ocean…”

Small wonder the programme notes call it a soap opera.

Like his supposed ancestor Hercules, Antony’s reason is lost - through the most dangerous addiction of all, namely love.

                                                                                                                      Reviewer  M.A.G. 20.6.2013

Antony & Cleopatra
a review by Jenni Balow
Cleopatra's Needle is the commanding centrepiece on the Minack stage this week for a long, rarely performed and perplexing Shakespearean tragedy that demands strong direction and eye-catching design.

Good then, that this band of professional actors from Another Way Theatre and their backstage team clearly have the passion and commitment to deliver a compelling Antony and Cleopatra.
Chris Chambers set out to direct the Surrey based company's production with his wife in the lead role as the Queen of Egypt, and then his Antony pulled out, so he stepped in to the star role, which is pretty demanding to say the least. But, strikingly unlike the Roman, he knows what he wants, and unswervingly extracts it from this strong and experienced group of actors. He brought in Eleanor Chadwick to co-direct.

His stage designer Jill 'Wiggy' Wilson is no stranger to the Minack and convinces us with deft touches that we are in Alexandria, Rome and places in between, as the action takes us from Cleopatra's sumptuous palace to tense summit meetings between Antony and Caesar, (Luke Walsh) Lepidus, (Robert Rowe) and Pompey (Andrew Mulquin) who all have empires to build.
The play's focus is the unravelling of Antony's ambition when he falls for Cleopatra. He is besotted, no doubt about that, but he needs to keep his eye on the ball. There are battles to fight, and he needs to keep Caesar sweet - the tragedy is, it is not going to work out, and the men around him know it, especially the Soothsayer (David Kay) and his best friend Enobarbus (Andrew Fitch). Others who witness the downfall are Maecenas (Dan Avery) Alexas (Glyn Williams) and Menas (Elliot Young).

The lively and rhythmic Middle Eastern music composed by Hussein Zahawy fits the play perfectly. There is a clever slo-mo sword fight and an inspired smoke-filled battle scene, using coloured flags to denote the sides, before Antony's ultimately fatal decision to flee with the queen, "like a doting mallard" losing command and his reputation.

Cleopatra's Needle is a triumph of design, looking as if it might have been standing on a Cornish cliff for well over the 2,000 years since Antony lost his heart to one of the world's most renowned monarchs.

The Queen of the Nile is played by Nicky Chambers dressed in shimmering flowing gold and iridescent shades to match the peacock feathers that fan her throne. Costume designer Jean Hammond chooses fabrics fit for a queen, and her serving women (Elaine Hartley) who doubles as an exotically attired belly dancer and (Rebecca Livermore) who also movingly plays the role of Caesar's beloved sister Octavia. The Roman men are generally dressed for the fight in sturdy leather armour, or plotting in white or scarlet togas.

One or two Shakespearean plays per season are part of the Minack tradition set down by founder Rowena Cade and this is one of the most challenging, so make sure you read the plot in the programme beforehand, if you don't already know it, and you will be rewarded by a fine production.