Theatre

Shakespeare’s late romance is often despised as a fantastic fairy tale, notorious for the scene in which Imogen wakes up next to the headless corpse of the hated Cloten who she mistakes for her husband Posthumous. How on earth do you put that on stage without provoking giggling rather than pity? By playing the emotions for real, however outlandish the situations, according to director Declan Donnellan, whose Cheek by Jowl production has travelled the world. And there’s some sense to Imogen’s confusion since Donnellan has cast the same actor, Tom Hiddleston, as Posthumous and Cloten, both of whom in their different ways set out to harm Imogen.

The emotions are so intense and clearly expressed by the young company that it’s impossible not to be gripped by a story that rapidly roves across England, Rome and Wales as Imogen and Posthumous are separated by her evil, and in this case towering, stepmother who twists Cymbeline, Imogen’s father, around her little finger. Over in Italy, the tragedy is compounded when Posthumous is too quick to believe that his wife has betrayed him.
The menacing atmosphere of the court is intensified by the restless choreography of the direction. Nick Ormerod’s design is typically austere. All in suits, the men merge into the black background. It’s overpoweringly gloomy, only relieved by the women’s glittering evening dresses – Imogen oddly wears hers for breakfast – and Judith Greenwood’s probing shafts of light.

Admittedly, the inexperience of some members of the company is evident. In particular, Guy Flanagan’s Iachimo doesn’t exploit the rich, erotic possibilities of the scene in which he has the sleeping Imogen at his mercy. But the glowing Jodie McNee makes an outstanding Imogen, resolute when she has to be and sweetly forgiving when reconciled to Hiddleston’s equally memorable Posthumous. The final reconciliation scene ratches up even more improbable coincidences than is usual in Shakespeare’s romances, but here it also goes straight to the heart.