Antony and Cleopatra tonight (Easter Sunday) 7.30

[Flay]

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston take the lead roles in this great tragedy of love and power, a new production to mark the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.

A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 3

I cannot see any anticipatory comments on this yet. Are we in for a treat?

[aeolium]

I'm not confident as I haven't liked Branagh in any Shakespeare performance I've seen him in (including the ludicrously over-hyped and over-praised recent NT Macbeth which was broadcast live to cinema). He is one for over-emphasis, physicality, showiness and to hell with the verse. It may be that radio will restrain these qualities but I doubt it.

[Honoured Guest]

Fremch Frank commented grudgingly in the Hamlet thread:

I wonder if it was Branagh's choice - this will be the 4th Ant & Cleo broadcast since 1997 (not sure which were repeats) 1997, 2002, 2010, 2014. Plus 3 MNDs, 3 Winter's Tales and 3 Tempests. Since we now seem to have only one Shakespeare production each year (the list isn't quite complete) it would have been nice to have had a new one. Leaving aside the Henrys in various parts, they don't seem to have done Love's Labours, K. John, Henry V (?), Timon, Titus Andronicus; and several have only had one outing. Edward III might be good too (don't know it).

[Honoured Guest]

... recent NT Macbeth which was broadcast live to cinema).

NT Live broadcast the MIF (Manchester International Festival) production.

[jean]

I liked him a lot in that. It was a very interesting production which deserved the hype (and as a Liverpudlian, it really hurts me to say that).

.

[french frank]

I liked him a lot in that. It was a very interesting production which deserved the hype (and as a Liverpudlian, it really hurts me to say that).

And I enjoyed his film of Love's Labour's Lost - which the critics disliked.

[gurnemanz]

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston take the lead roles in this great tragedy of love and power, a new production to mark the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.

A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 3

I cannot see any anticipatory comments on this yet. Are we in for a treat?

Thanks for the reminder. We did it for A Level, learning whole chunks off by heart and it's always been special for me. (How did WS manage to write a film screenplay before film existed as medium?) As sixth formers, our favourite character was Enobarbus with his cynical asides.

I've seen Branagh three times live on stage as far I can remember, each quite memorable: The RSC Hamlet in which we got the full text lasting over four hours, Poor Tom/Edgar in the Richard Briers Lear (+ then wife Emma Thompson as a female Fool) , and more recently excellent as Chekhov's Ivanov.

[DracoM]

Well, I'm afraid this is so far a very leaden-footed production.

No humour, none of the very clearly signalled officers' mess humour on Pompey's barge deliberately written in. No fun and humour between Clleo and her women. No joie de vivre, little response to the quicksilver agility of Shak's late verse. Sorry, but a quite appallingly UN-sexy, UNwitty, one-paced and strident Cleo. No subtlety, and never below mf but mostly ff > fff. It's RADIO, chaps, not the O2.

The politics so unsubtle too: these are not the young facing a naughty world, but a bunch of politicians who pretty well calculate and even anticipate each other's every move. Just loud bashing through the text.

And Branagh sounds just ..well, seriously dull.

So far.

[jean]

...We did it for A Level, learning whole chunks off by heart and it's always been special for me.

Me too!

...our favourite character was Enobarbus...

I hope you saw Michael Bryant playing him.

I have forgotten everything else about that production.

[french frank]

I wasn't in tune with the opening at all. Shall settle down to it with the text tomorrow. Yes, I was finding it a bit ... loud.

[Nick Armstrong]

Wonderful play... Didn't rate the performances, Alex Kingston particularly lacking. Sir Ken is good at the sardonic side of Shakespeare but when he tries to do "epic", all I can hear is someone failing to punch successfully above his weight. Not convinced at all.