成人快手

One big dramatic role. Actors from across the world tell us what the part means and what it means to them. This time: Cleopatra.

In the first episode of this new series, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Janet Suzman, Do帽a Croll and Nadia Nadarajah describe what it's like to play Cleopatra, taking us through the character's journey in William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

Cleopatra 7th of Egypt is one of the ancient world's most famous figures. But it was William Shakespeare who first made her an iconic dramatic role and shaped our ideas of this historical leader - in his play Antony and Cleopatra.

The play鈥檚 lines have stayed in the mind of Dame Judi Dench who initially doubted whether she could play the part. She tells stories of escaping snakes, secret suppers, and spectacular speeches. It's a part which has also fascinated Dame Janet Suzman, who has returned to the play and to the complex beguiling Cleopatra time and again over the last five decades.

The play travels from Egypt to Rome and back again - Do帽a Croll, thought to be the first black actor to play the role, talks about why Cleopatra is a part important to black actors, a role known for her power and her supposed beauty. Our image of the Egyptian ruler has perhaps been influenced more by one actor than any other: Elizabeth Taylor. Roger Lewis reveals the parallels between the lives of Taylor and Cleopatra.

Antony and Cleopatra's final act is known for its wonderful language and theatrical difficulty. Nadia Nadarajah, a Shakespearean actor who uses British Sign Language, explores Cleopatra鈥檚 famous final moments, surrounded by snakes.

Produced by Camellia Sinclair and Sam Grist for 成人快手 Audio, Bristol
Edited by Emma Harding
Mixed by Ilse Lademann

Archive:

Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre, 1987
Director - Sir Peter Hall
Cleopatra - Judi Dench
Alexas - Robert Arnold

Antony and Cleopatra, ATV (ITV), 1974
Director - Jon Scoffield
Cleopatra - Janet Suzman
Antony - Richard Johnson

Caesar and Cleopatra (Followed by Antony and Cleopatra), 成人快手 Network Radio, 12th August 1951
Producer - Ayton Whitaker
Cleopatra - Vivien Leigh
Antony - Laurence Olivier

Antony and Cleopatra, 成人快手 Radio 3, 28th December 2014
Director - Alison Hindell
Cleopatra - Alex Kingston
Antony - Kenneth Branagh
Agrippa - Simon Armstrong
Octavius Caesar - Geoffrey Streatfield

Make Death Love Me: Antony and Cleopatra Re-imagined, 成人快手 Radio 3, 24th April 2022
Director - Neil Bartlett
Producer - Turan Ali
Cleopatra - Adjoa Andoh
Antony - Tim McInnerny

World Drama - Antony and Cleopatra - Part 1, 成人快手 Radio 3, 30th Jan 1977
Director/Producer - John Tydeman
Cleopatra - Sian Phillips

Antony and Cleopatra, 成人快手 Network Radio, 12th July 1965
Producer - R.D. Smith
Enobarbus - Rupert Davies

Additional archive:
Kaleidoscope, 成人快手 Radio 4, 13th November 1981; Prefaces to Shakespeare, 成人快手 Radio 4, 2nd May 1981; What's New?, 成人快手 Television, 3rd April 1962; Radio Two Arts Programme: Burton and Taylor, 成人快手 Radio 2, 13th March 1994 including clips from Cleopatra, film, 1963 directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, Richard Burton as Antony; Film 74 Special: Richard Burton, 成人快手 TV, 6th September 1974 including clips from Cleopatra 1963 film.

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