Eve Best’s portrayal of the infamous Egyptian queen in William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra was one of the most stunning performances I have seen all summer.
This play is unique because it does not fall strictly into the category of tragedy. It employs a great deal of comedy (much of it sexual and bawdy). It also does not deal with the idea of evil as many of Shakespeare’s other tragedies do (such as Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet). This tragedy is about a doomed love story. It is a love that is uncontainable; it actually spans across two continents. From the first few acts of the play, it was clear that the director had a distinct vision for the two different worlds that the action of the play inhabits. Rome is the world of men and public service, filled with logic, rationality and soldiers in uniform. However, we begin the play in Egypt, a land of colors, dancing and festivity. Everyone onstage is having a good time and is engaging the audience in the fun as well. Egypt is fluid; the imagery of melting is scattered throughout the language of the play (such as: “Let Rome into Tiber melt.” [I.i.33], “Melt Egypt into Nile” [II.v.78], and “The Crown of the Earth doth melt [IV.xv.63]… Just to name a few). Eve Best as Cleopatra physicalizes this image of melting; she is the complete embodiment of these Egyptian principles.
Cleopatra’s independence from the rigidity and formality of Rome is obvious first in her movement on the stage. The playing space of the Globe Theatre is so enormous it may seem daunting to an actor who is unexperienced in the space but for Eve Best, it seems too small. She moves so fluidly and efficiently but also gracefully from place to place that audience is quite aware of her regal stature in this unique country. Everyone on stage is as well. She is also unpredictable, both in her movements and in her actions in the text; she is the perfect conceit to the Roman triumvirate because she is irrational and occasionally cruel, which Cleopatra demonstrates in the scene where she almost kills the messenger who tells her that Octavia is now married to the love of her life. Cleopatra can often come off as selfish and unpleasant in certain portrayals but this is not true of Eve Best. It is clear that Best loves this character; where others see cruelty, she sees an action motivated by raw hurt or anger. Where some see selfishness, she sees a woman protecting herself. These thoughts are illustrated through the objectives with which Best motivates Cleopatra, making her intensely likable, bordering on a tragic hero by the end of the play.
Her freedom is also evident in the manner in which they chose to costume this Cleopatra. Her costumes combine both feminine and masculine elements. She enters wearing pants, a startling choice but, inn juxtaposition with the manliness implied by the trousers, her hair is long and cascades down her back. Her clothes get more and more womanly as the play progresses; next is a dress , but one with a skirt that she can bustle up and sword fight in. She ends the play in her most royal, queen-like gown. While her clothes represent her simultaneous strength and freedom, Cleopatra’s hair is used to reflect her state of mind. In the first act, it is free to flow behind her. In the second and third acts, it is often tied back in a pony tail, as she gets a bit more serious. During Antony’s death scene, when Cleopatra is at her most distraught, it is tied back in a horrifically messy bun. It is obvious that she has sacrificed the state of her hair to mourn the passing of her lover.
However, her hair is later returned to its previous, beautiful, free flowing glory for one of the most captivating scenes of the entire play: that in which Cleopatra commits suicide. Cleopatra carries the last act and ends it with her final performance, the taking of her own life. She focuses on creating a beautiful and memorable ritual; however, in that presentation, she reveals her true weakness. Cleopatra loves pleasure and cannot endure pain. That is why she chooses to die by poisoning herself with venomous snakes. She is positive that she checks and double checks that the snakes will kill her quickly and painlessly. And that is exactly what happens, her ladies in waiting dress her in her royal jewels and then she simply goes to sleep. Often times, death by poison is considered womanly and weak but Eve Best makes it seem like the obvious choice. Of course this is how her Cleopatra chooses to die; she remains regal until her final breath. Her body is not covered or defaced by blood or wounds. She genuinely looks as if she has just closed her eyes for a moment. For Eve Best, it seems like a death fit for a queen.
half the world away 