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Antony and Cleopatra (1959 film)
Antony and Cleopatra is a 1959 Australian television play based on the play by William Shakespeare.[4] It was broadcast live in Melbourne then recorded and screened in Sydney. The ABC also broadcast a production of Hamlet at the same time, which was broadcast live in Sydney then recorded and screened in Melbourne.[5] It was the ABC's first live Shakespeare play.[6] Cast
ProductionArthur Chipper did the adaptation, which made a number of alterations from the play, including reducing the characters and opening it in Rome not Alexandria.[7] It was shot at ABC's studios in Rippon Lea. It used a cast of 24, 15 speaking parts, ten sets and 31 scenes. The set was designed by Jon Peters. It was Keith Eden's first performance as a "straight" actor on TV - he was better known as a radio actor.[1] There were 31 scene changes.[8] Keith Clarke did costumes.[9] Reception"Janus", the TV critic for The Age thought the play was "not for television."[10] Another critic for the same paper said it "was a gallant and praiseworthy attempt in the face of heavy odds" but did not think the play suitable for television although he liked the two lead performances.[11] The Sydney Morning Herald critic wrote that:
The Bulletin said "A satisfactory TV treatment of this play is probably impossible. Even more than Hamlet it cries out for space and color. Its conflicting worlds of politics and self-consuming passion are created in images of the utmost scope and vigor, and if a producer cannot match them in physical terms he must concentrate on the richness of the poetry and look continually for the points of tension between the two worlds."[13] See alsoReferences
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