Cleopatra & Antony • Marketing Kit

On this page you'll find everything you need to cover Melbourne Shakespeare Company's upcoming production of Cleopatra & Antony, directed by Sonya Suares at fortyfivedownstairs.

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Blurb

Passion. Politics. Power. In August 2026, Melbourne Shakespeare Company returns to fortyfivedownstairs with a bold new production of Shakespeare’s epic Cleopatra & Antony, directed by Sonya Suares.

Following a string of sold-out seasons, Melbourne Shakespeare Company once again brings together a stellar cast and creative team to deliver a gripping, modern take on this timeless tragedy. Against the backdrop of empire and ambition, Cleopatra and Antony’s fateful romance unfolds with devastating intensity. This production blends sharp contemporary direction with Shakespeare’s rich language, offering audiences a visceral and compelling night of theatre.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience one of the Bard’s greatest works brought to life by some of Australia’s most exciting artists.

Director's Note

Shortly after accepting this gig from MSC's maverick Artistic Director, Jennifer Sarah Dean, I stumbled upon a sentence that read: "Antony and Cleopatra is impossible to direct". 

Indeed. Staging over 40 rapid-fire scenes populated with an equal number of characters that bounces wildly between Egypt, Rome and parts of Greece, expecting an audience to track the enormity of the geopolitical stakes amidst the volatile interpersonal drama of two historic icons. It makes sense that it's one of the least performed of Shakespeare's best beloved tragedies. Which idiot would put up their hand to helm this colossus?

And yet for all that, this work and its myriad possibilities was immediately compelling - probably because it is a wild, genre-bending ride comprised entirely of characters who lived and breathed upon this earth. Their history, as is so often the case, beggars belief. The more I dove into it, the more clearly Cleopatra revealed herself in defiance of the way she is so often depicted: i.e. an idea, an ideal, an exoticised outline, the ultimate femme fatale whose mercurial power over Antony unmans him. This is a woman who spoke ten languages and was a renowned scholar; who survived two brother-husbands in the blood sport that was Ptolemaic dynastic history to claim the throne of Egypt via a tactical relationship with Julius Caesar; who groomed their son to be the natural successor of both empires; and whose next relationship with Mark Antony was one of history's most consequential political alliances. It enraged me that she exists most often in the cultural imaginary splayed on a chaise, legs and breasts akimbo.

I imagined how it would also have enraged those closest to her - how it would grate Charmian, her closest confidante and, according to Plutarch, chief of staff - and it gave me the frame for this adaptation. When you reinstate Cleopatra at the centre of her own narrative, the stakes in this work read more legibly all round for a contemporary audience - it gives Antony something more to substantial to fight for/ wrestle with and poses a formidable force to for Octavius to counter. This was a sliding doors moment in history, one that comes to a head in a naval-impasse-turned-all-out-battle. If not for Agrippa, it could have gone either way.

I am so grateful this reimagining has resonated with the heroic team of artists and creatives who have taken on the challenge of realising this epic with me within the intimacy of fortyfivedownstairs, and constraints of an independent theatre budget. It requires no small degree of courage, conviction and stamina. And capital L Love - which, perhaps not coincidentally, is the guiding principle steering nearly all the relationships that unfold in this play. We look forward to sharing our vision with you.

- Sonya Suares

Performance details

Dates: Thursday 20 August – Sunday 13 September, 2026
Opening: Saturday August 22^nd, 2026
Times: 7:30pm (Tuesday to Saturday) and 5:00pm (Sunday)
Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne , VIC, 3000, AU
Tickets: $39.00 – $55.00
For bookings visit melbourneshakespeare.com

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