Cleopatra

Available for over a year

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, Doña 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’s 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 - Doña 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’s famous final moments, surrounded by snakes. Produced by Camellia Sinclair and Sam Grist for BBC 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), BBC Network Radio, 12th August 1951 Producer - Ayton Whitaker Cleopatra - Vivien Leigh Antony - Laurence Olivier Antony and Cleopatra, BBC 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, BBC Radio 3, 24th April 2022 Director - Neil Bartlett Producer - Turan Ali Cleopatra - Adjoa Andoh Antony - Tim McInnerny World Drama - Antony and Cleopatra - Part 1, BBC Radio 3, 30th Jan 1977 Director/Producer - John Tydeman Cleopatra - Sian Phillips Antony and Cleopatra, BBC Network Radio, 12th July 1965 Producer - R.D. Smith Enobarbus - Rupert Davies Additional archive: Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4, 13th November 1981; Prefaces to Shakespeare, BBC Radio 4, 2nd May 1981; What's New?, BBC Television, 3rd April 1962; Radio Two Arts Programme: Burton and Taylor, BBC 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, BBC TV, 6th September 1974 including clips from Cleopatra 1963 film.