Rhumbelow Theatre will be bringing their Rhumbelow Classics Cinema series back in January in the evenings for patrons who could not do daytime shows in September 2021.
The Shakespeare Season from the RSC – Royal Shakespeare Company – screens productions that were recorded live at Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Programme:
January 12 at 18h00:
Antony & Cleopatra (3 HR 37 MIN)
January 13 at 18h00: As You Like It – (3 HR
14 MIN)
January 14 at 18h00: Coriolanus – (3 HR 23
MIN)
January 15 at 18h00: Hamlet – (3 HR 34 MIN)
January 16 at 14h00: Macbeth – (2 HR 38 MIN)
January 17 at 18h00: Measure for Measure – (3
HR 02 MIN)
January 19 at 18h00: Merry Wives of Windsor –
(3 HR 01 MIN)
January 20 at 18h00: Romeo & Juliet – (3
HR 02 MIN)
January 21 at 18h00: Taming of The Shrew – (3
HR 11 MIN)
January 22 at 18h00: The Tempest – (2 HR 58
MIN)
January 23 at 14h00: Twelfth Night – (2 HR
53 MIN)
Antony & Cleopatra
Following Julius Caesar’s assassination, Mark
Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus form a triumvirate as joint rulers of the
known world. Antony, however, is captivated by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and
neglects his duties to spend time with her in Alexandria. This scandal creates
a rift between Antony and Octavius.
News comes that control of Rome is being challenged
by Pompey. Antony is forced to return, and agrees to cement his alliance with
Octavius by marrying his sister, Octavia. Back in Egypt, the news of Antony’s
marriage angers Cleopatra.
On the brink of war, Antony and Octavius make peace
with Pompey. Shortly afterwards, Octavius attacks Pompey, anyway, and dismisses
Lepidus from the triumvirate. Antony sends Octavia to negotiate with her
brother while he returns secretly to Alexandria.
News arrives in Rome that Antony and Cleopatra have
crowned themselves king and queen in Alexandria.
Octavius declares war on Egypt. Despite having the
advantage, the Egyptian forces suffer a blow when Antony deserts a battle to
follow Cleopatra’s fleeing ship. However, hearing that Octavius has offered to
make a secret treaty with Cleopatra, he rouses himself for a second battle.
Antony’s courage is renewed, but his soldiers are nervous, and even faithful
Enobarbus deserts him for Octavius.
As Antony’s fleet surrenders, he accuses Cleopatra
of betraying him to Octavius. She retreats to her monument and sends out a
false report that she is dead.
As You Like It
Come into the forest; dare to change your state of
mind.
Rosalind is banished, wrestling with her heart and
her head. With her cousin by her side, she journeys to a world of exile where
barriers are broken down and all can discover their deeper selves. Director
Kimberley Sykes (Dido, Queen of Carthage) directs a riotous, exhilarating
version of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy.
What ensues is a riotous combination of a feisty
cross-dressing heroine, a tartan-clad fool, melodic songs, questionable poetry
and laughs aplenty. Will love conquer all, or is it merely a madness?
Coriolanus
Coriolanus is the story of a Roman soldier at the
time of the birth of the Roman Republic, as a new political structure was
emerging and people jostle for power. This was hundreds of years before Rome
became an Empire, so the play shows a society that is just establishing itself
and struggling with ideas about how to govern and rule.
The play opens at a time of famine. The people of
Rome, known as plebeians, are rioting because they believe the Patricians or
ruling class have been hoarding grain and are responsible for their suffering.
They make it clear how unfair the system is and call Caius Martius the worst of
them all, declaring him an ‘enemy of the people’. It is Caius Martius that then
goes on to become Coriolanus, when he defeats the enemy in battle.
Hamlet
Old Hamlet, King of Denmark, has died and been
succeeded by his brother, Claudius, who has married Gertrude, the widowed
Queen. Prince Hamlet, distressed by his father’s death and his mother’s hasty
remarriage, sees the ghost of his father who tells him that he was murdered by
Claudius. Hamlet vows to avenge the murder but, to cover his intentions, feigns
madness.
Polonius, whose daughter Ophelia has been the
recipient of love letters from the Prince, believes that Hamlet’s madness is caused
by repressed love. Spied on by Polonius and Claudius, Hamlet encounters Ophelia
and violently rejects her.
Hamlet asks a company of players to perform a play,
hoping its theme of murder will force Claudius to betray his guilt. Hamlet’s
suspicions are confirmed. He visits his mother and disparages her for her hasty
marriage but, startled, accidentally kills Polonius who is hiding behind an
arras. Claudius sends Hamlet to England, planning to have him murdered.
Laertes, Polonius’ son, demands revenge for his
father’s death. Ophelia, maddened by grief, has drowned herself. Hamlet returns
and confronts Laertes at her funeral. Claudius, meanwhile, has plotted with
Laertes to kill Hamlet in a fencing match in which Laertes will have a poisoned
sword. The plot miscarries and Laertes dies. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned
cup intended for Hamlet and also dies. Hamlet, wounded by the poisoned sword,
kills Claudius before he, too, dies.
Macbeth
Macbeth and Banquo, generals in the service of King
Duncan of Scotland, are returning victorious from battle when they are hailed
by three witches who predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then
King of Scotland.
The first part of the prophecy is soon fulfilled
when Duncan rewards Macbeth's loyal service.
Encouraged by this, and playing on her husband's
ambition, Lady Macbeth persuades him to murder Duncan while he is a guest at
their castle. Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan's sons, flee to England for safety.
Macbeth, now king, has Banquo murdered in an attempt to secure his own
position, but Banquo's ghost appears to him at a banquet.
Macbeth visits the witches again. They warn him to
beware of Macduff, a noble who has also fled to England, but assure him that he
cannot be harmed by any man born of woman. Macbeth orders the murder of
Macduff's wife and children. In England, Malcolm and Macduff raise an army to
march against Macbeth. However, Macbeth, armed with the witches' prophecy,
believes that he is invincible. However, soon Macbeth must face the true
meaning of the witches' words.
Measure For Measure
Vienna is teeming with brothels and loose morality,
but the Duke doesn't want to use his authority to clean up the city. He
departs, dressed as a friar, leaving his deputy, Angelo, in charge. Angelo is
at first reluctant, but he soon starts to make changes.
A young man, Claudio, gets the girl he intends to
marry, Juliet, pregnant. Under a forgotten old law that Angelo has just
reinstated, Claudio is arrested and sentenced to death. Angelo revives other
harsh laws and threatens to demolish all the brothels. Meanwhile, the Duke
returns to the city in disguise.
Lucio, Froth and others (who regularly visit
Mistress Overdone's brothel) are shocked to hear of Claudio's fate and agree
that Lucio should visit Claudio's sister, Isabella, in her convent. They
persuade her to leave the convent and appeal to Angelo to spare her brother.
Angelo offers to spare Claudio's life if Isabella
will sleep with him, but she is about to become a nun and so refuses in order
to protect her chastity. Isabella visits her brother, Claudio, in prison and
explains Angelo's offer and her refusal. The Duke, disguised as a friar,
overhears their conversation. Claudio begs Isabella to submit to Angelo, but
she refuses. The disguised Duke tells Claudio to prepare for certain death, but
secretly tells Isabella of a plan to save Claudio's life without violating her
vow of chastity. He reveals that Angelo has treated his ex-fiancée, Mariana,
very badly and puts Isabella in touch with her.
Isabella and Mariana fool Angelo into sleeping with
Mariana. Isabella agrees to submit to Angelo as long as it is in the dark and
no one speaks but, instead of her, Mariana keeps the agreed meeting. Angelo
will then have committed the same 'crime' as Claudio.
Constable Elbow brings Pompey into the prison for
being a pimp. Lucio meets the disguised Duke and pretends that he knows the
Duke well, describing him as immoral. The Duke is outraged and determined to
get revenge. Mistress Overdone and a group of prostitutes are also imprisoned.
Mistress Overdone discloses that Lucio has made one of her prostitutes pregnant
and refused to marry her.
The Provost of the jail receives instructions from
Angelo, demanding that Claudio be put to death at once. The Provost and Pompey
devise a plan to execute another prisoner instead of Claudio, although the
prisoner (Barnardine) is less keen on the idea of such a hasty death.
We will keep the ending a secret.
Merry Wives of Windsor
This comedy featuring Sir John Falstaff was first
published in 1602, though believed to have been written sometime before 1597.
Sir John Falstaff, staying in Windsor and down on
his luck, decides to restore his fortunes by seducing the wives of two wealthy
citizens.
He sends Mistress Page and Mistress Ford identical
love letters, but they discover his double-dealing and set about turning the
tables, arranging an assignation at Mistress Ford's house.
Frank Ford has heard of Falstaff's plan and decides
to test his wife's fidelity. Pretending to be Master Broom, he pays Falstaff to
seduce his wife on his behalf, twice almost catching them together. The Pages'
daughter Anne is pursued by three suitors. The French physician Doctor Caius is
her mother's choice, whilst her father prefers Slender, Justice Shallow's
kinsman. Anne herself is in love with Fenton.
Mistress Quickly is being paid by all three suitors
to promote their cause. A duel between Doctor Caius and Parson Evans is averted
when the Host of the Garter Inn plays a trick on them, and they in turn pay him
back.
In Windsor Great Park at night, Falstaff is set up
for his final punishment - and one of Anne Page's suitors is successful.
Romeo & Juliet
A long-standing feud between the Montague and the
Capulet families flares into a brawl on the streets and is stopped only by
Escalus, Prince of Verona. Romeo Montague, love-sick for Rosaline, is persuaded
to go to a masked party by his friends Benvolio and Mercutio. The only trouble
is that it’s at the house of the Capulets. There he meets Juliet, only daughter
of the Capulets, and they fall instantly in love. With the help of Juliet’s
nurse, they are secretly married the next day by Friar Laurence.
Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is offended by Romeo’s
presence at the party and challenges him to a fight. Mercutio intervenes and is
killed. In a rage, Romeo kills Tybalt and flees.
After a night with Romeo, Juliet learns that her
parents intend to marry her to Paris immediately to save the Capulets from
shame and defeat. She seeks help from Friar Laurence, who gives her a drug
which will make her appear dead. When she wakes from her drugged sleep, Romeo
will be waiting. The Friar’s messenger sets out to tell Romeo the plan – but
doesn’t make it to Mantua. Instead, Romeo’s friend arrives to tell him Juliet
is dead. Romeo races to Verona to be with Juliet in her tomb.
Taming Of The Shrew
In a reimagined 1590, society is a matriarchy.
Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son
Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this
electrically charged love story.
Justin Audibert (Director) turns Shakespeare's
fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism on its head to offer a fresh
perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power.
The Tempest
A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand,
Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to
Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, to the
prince of Tunis in Africa. The royal party and the other mariners, with the
exception of the unflappable Boatswain, begin to fear for their lives.
Lightning cracks, and the mariners cry that the ship has been hit. Everyone
prepares to sink.
The next scene begins much more quietly. Miranda
and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the
recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the
poor souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and
then informs her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past.
He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy
story of her past, a story he has often started to tell her before but never
finished. The story goes that Prospero was the Duke of Milan until his brother
Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of Naples, usurped his position.
Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero and his daughter survive
because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s books, which are the source
of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter arrived on the island where
they remain now and have been for 12 years. Only now, Prospero says, has
Fortune at last sent his enemies his way, and he has raised the tempest in
order to make things right with them once and for all.
Twelfth Night
Viola and her twin brother Sebastian have been
shipwrecked; each believes the other to be drowned. Viola disguises herself as
a young man and, under the name of Cesario, enters the service of Orsino.
Orsino sends Cesario to woo Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia is taken in by
Cesario’s disguise and falls in love with him. Viola has secretly fallen in
love with Orsino, and Orsino is confused by his feelings for his new ‘male’
servant. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Viola’s twin, has been saved by Antonio, who
promptly falls in love with him. Olivia’s butler, Malvolio, disapproves of all
the other members of her household – her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir
Andrew Aguecheek and her servants, Maria, Feste and Fabia. Together, they plot
Malvolio’s downfall. Malvolio is secretly in love with Olivia, and the others
trick him into believing that these feelings are returned. To restrain his
apparently insane delusion he is locked up.
Olivia meets Sebastian and, mistaking him for
Cesario, asks him to marry her. He readily agrees. But when she later
encounters Orsino and Cesario, they are dismayed by her conviction that she and
Cesario are betrothed. At this point, the twins are reunited and true
identities revealed. Malvolio is released, and an attempt is made to pair
everyone up satisfactorily.
Tickets R100. No walk-ins allowed. Booking is essential on email to roland@stansell.co.za or Computicket.
Bring food picnic baskets or buy at the venue. Cool drinks, coffee and tea on sale. Limited secure parking available
All seating will be at separate tables and the venue will obviously be seating co-habiting couples and/or family members. Covid limit – max 50 %. Strict Covid protocols will be in place.
Rhumbelow Theatre is situated at 42 Cunningham Road, off Bartle Road, Durban.
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