Three Shakespeare shows to see

By CW Contributor on 9/10/2018

Me Too era updates, R n B soundtracks or steamy romance: the three Shakespeare shows to see this autumn

Twelfth Night, Young Vic Theatre. Photo by Johan Persson

Twelfth Night, Young Vic Theatre review ★★★★★

This musical re-working of Twelfth Night is not Elizabethan drama as we know it.

New Young Vic artistic director Kwei-Armah describes it as a 'show that stands community members shoulder to shoulder with professional artists, it’s filled with joyful, soulful music by Shaina Taub; it’s a celebration.'

With Beyoncé riffs and brass bands, the music makes the humour and emotion in Shakespeare's text instantly accessible. Alongside the songs, the other innovation in the production is the way in which it enacts community engagement. Each night an ensemble of around 30-40 Southwark and Lambeth locals join the professional cast on stage.

Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre review ★★★★★

Shakespeare's most sensuous love-story comes to life on the National Theatre's Olivier stage with an all-star cast.

Together, Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okenendo bring formidable talent to the Roman romance. As passionate as it is political, Antony and Cleopatra brings together duty and devotion with immense poetry and drama. Against the tumultuous uprisings of Ancient Rome, General Mark Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra fall madly in love.

Director Simon Godwin crafts an elegant contemporary production, with jaw-dropping staging and sumptuous silk costumes.

Measure for Measure, Donmar Warehouse

The Donmar Warehouse's Josie Rourke directs a re-imagined 'extraordinary workplace drama' version of Measure for Measure.

Rising stars Hayley Atwell (Howards End, BBC) and Jack Lowden (Dunkirk) switch roles with each other in every show, alternating between the powerful Deputy and the powerless Novice.

Shakespeare's story of a corrupt Vienna is reworked to become a play of two parts; one centering around 1604, the year Measure for Measure was first performed; and the other recasting themes of power, purity and exploitation for 2018.