Ruth Leon recommends…. Cymbeline – Stratford Festival

Cymbeline

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Cymbeline’s plot is too complicated to tell in a few words which doesn’t really matter because it makes a sort of sense when you watch it. Shakespeare has fused romance, comedy and tragedy to create a unique fantasia brimming with mistaken identities and gender-swapping disguises.
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Cymbeline’s daughter, Innogen, one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated heroines, is thrust into the world of court politics and ruthless personal ambitions when she chooses a lover beneath her station. Deceived by the dastardly Iachimo, a worthy contender for the Bard’s all-time greatest villain, Innogen must fight to protect her honour and agency.

This production from Canada’s Stratford Festival was directed by Esther Jun. The cast includes Allison Edwards-Crewe as Innogen, Lucy Peacock as Cymbeline, Jonathan Goad as Belarius, Jordin Hall as Posthumus Leonatus, Irene Poole as Pisanio, and Tyrone Savage as Iachimo.

If you’re not familiar with Cymbeline this is a good introduction to a Shakespeare play that is much less frequently produced than the usual suspects – Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth, and the rest – but no less attractive for its verbal delights and plot twists.

Stratford Festival encourages subscriptions at £6.44 ($7.99) a month or £64.47 a year, even offering new subscribers 50% off the first three months with the code 3MONTHS. Or you can rent it for 3 days for £6.38.

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