Cymbeline

The period of time after the audience is seated and before a show starts is never really discussed and highly underrated. This when the audience gets its first impression of the show based on the ambiance, how the stage is set, the introduction music, etc. As I first sat down in the large auditorium at the Shakespeare Theater Company, my eyes were immediately drawn to what appeared to be a girl, asleep in a bed set on the stage. The bed was dressed in flowing white satin sheets, which actually complemented the rest of the set. Behind and to one side of the bed were glass tanks in a wavy pattern, each filled with water and contained an arum lily floating on the top. All of it gave off a very serene feeling, as if the entire audience had stumbled upon a dream: the little girl's dream.
This dream style remained throughout the play as its theme, one that reflected Imogen's monologue in Act IV scene ii. The costumes had a light, flowing feel to them and used light and dark contrasts to show characters' personalities. Imogen remained in mostly white while the men wore dark clothing (Iachimo even wore a red shirt to show his dark intentions) and royalty wore gold and brown. Continuing the dream style, the fights transitioned into slow motion with bright lights flashing in the background as if in a nightmare and even the props used such as the throne were made of a metal that gave them an unreal appearance. Throughout each scene, the little girl and her storyteller wove between the characters, commenting on the plot, effectively serving a narrative purpose. In this aspect, the play was certainly aesthetic and beautiful to watch.
However, the production's beauty was as pleasant to observe as if it was a painting. For all the acting did for the show, it might have been better as one hanging in a gallery. The cast had a few actors on which the production relied on for its success in entertaining an audience, namely Leo Marks who played Cloten. While the rest of the cast was either a bore or overly dramatic and almost in tears with every line (Gretchen Hall's Imogen), Marks certainly gave a highly entertaining and well-developed portrayal of his character. The audience was instantly drawn to him each time he appeared on stage. Indeed, most were even disappointed when the normally unlikable character was killed. However, his anachronistic entrance on a moped was certainly unexpected and a bit confusing while still bringing chuckles from various audience members.