Performance Details: Agent ZigZag
Project type: Radio recording
Synopsis: Damian Lewis reads Ben Macintyre's compelling account of Britain's most extraordinary wartime double agent -- one of the most gripping stories of the Second World War.
Chronology: Probably recorded in the autumn of 2006. Presented on BBC Radio 4 in the UK in five daily 15-minute episodes from January 29, 2007, through February 2, 2007.
Principal Cast & Crew: Read by Damian Lewis; Produced by Emma Harding; Written by Ben Macintyre.
Links:
Episode Guide:
Episode 1: At the start of the war, British criminal Eddie Chapman is recruited by the German Secret Service. He soon becomes a highly prized, and decorated, Nazi agent. What the Germans don't know is that he is also working for MI5.
Episode 2: Former British con, Eddie Chapman, has been recruited as a spy by the Abwehr, the German intelligence organisation, who have given him the codename Fritz. Agent Fritz is about to be parachuted into England for his first mission: to sabotage the De Havilland aircraft factory in Hertfordshire.
Episode 3: 'Fritz' is now in England preparing for his first mission, codenamed 'Walter', to sabotage the De Havilland aircraft factory in Hertfordshire. What the Germans don't know is that Fritz is also working as double agent 'Zigag' for MI5.
Episode 4: In March 1943, MI5 sent Chapman back to his German controllers in order to gather information on the workings of the Abwehr.
Episode 5: For the last year, Fritz has been in Oslo in the company of his girlfriend, Dagmar Lahlum, and his German spymaster, Dr. Graumann. But now Agent Zigzag is on his way back to Britain.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: The Awakening Conscience
Project type: Radio recording
Synopsis: William Holman Hunt meets Annie Miller, a young beauty who works behind the bar at the local pub. He resolves to turn her into the perfect model and woman. This radio production was the first of three plays in The Golden Triangle, a trilogy of radio plays about the lives of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. (Damian was not part of the second and third plays in the series, The Order Of Release and Love Among The Ruins.)
Chronology: Probably recorded in 1998. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the UK on November 25, 1998 (followed by The Order Of Release on December 2, 1998, and Love Among The Ruins on December 9, 1998.) Rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the UK on April 25, 2001 (followed by The Order Of Release on May 2, 2001, and Love Among The Ruins on May 9, 2001.)
Principal Cast & Crew: Alan Cox as _____; Julie Cox as _____; Jonathan Firth as _____; Damian Lewis as Rossetti; Directed by Clive Brill; Written by Robin Brooks.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: The Baker
Project type: Cinematic film
Synopsis: Can't sleep? Hate your job? Hate the city? Kill people for a living? Meet Milo -- he knows how you feel. Milo's a hit-man on the edge. When something snaps inside his head and he fails to fulfil a contract, he has to escape the city to avoid the wrath of his employers. Pursued by a ruthless colleague with a thing for rubber gloves, he hides out in a remote Welsh village, where he is mistaken for the new baker. Forced to bake to maintain the cover, what he discovers is nothing short of a revelation -- when he bakes, all his worries seem to disappear. Baking is therapy. When sparks fly with the beautiful local vet, he decides to start a new life as a baker. But as the villagers discover his true identity and start ordering hits on one another, things start to get messy. He's about to discover that you can't have your cake and eat it.
Chronology: Began pre-production in late February 2006. Principal photography began on March 27, 2006. Production was completed in May 2006. Released on region 2 DVD in Hungary on October 16, 2007. Released in the Ritzy Picturehouse cinema in London for a limited engagement, February 29 - March 6, 2008. Released on region 2 DVD in the UK on March 3, 2008. Released in cinemas in Greece on July 10, 2008. Released on region 1 DVD in Canada on August 12, 2008. Released on region 4 DVD in Australia on September 18, 2008. (Other cinematic and/or DVD release details not yet announced).
Film Festivals & Other Special Screenings:
Awards & Nominations:
The film received the following award:
Principal Cast & Crew: Kate Ashfield as Rhiannon Jones; Annette Badland as Martha; Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Bjorn; Aimee Cowen as Checkout Girl; Gwenno Dafydd as Mrs. Edwards; Dyfan Dwyfor as Eggs; Michael Gambon as Leo; David Garfield as Griff; Michael Geary as Dai Williams; Gareth Wyn Griffith as Fish & Chip Man; Brian Hibbard as Bob; Philip Howe as Gareth Llewellyn; Paul Courtenay Hyu as Chinese Fish & Chip Man; Margaret John as Anne Jones; Damian Lewis as Milo; Gareth Lewis as Nature Documentary Voice; Rhodri Meilir as Owain Williams; Martin Glyn Murray as Hypnotist Voice; Anthony O'Donnell as Rhys; Robert Page as Stan; Nicholas Rowe as Businessman; Steven Spiers as Bryn; Adrian Sturges as Clerk; Dorien Thomas as Father Williams; Dyfed Thomas as Huw Edwards; William Thomas as Alun; Valerie Vaughan-Williams as Mrs. Thomas; Simon Winkler as Bodyguard; Boris the Sheep as Himself; Directed by Gareth Lewis; Written by Gareth Lewis; Co-Produced by Damian Lewis, Daniel Shepherd, Adrian Sturges and Justin Williams.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Band Of Brothers
Project type: Television mini-series
Synopsis: This story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, chronicles the experiences of the men who knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear. The were an elite rifle company parachuting into France early on D-Day morning, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and capturing Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. They were also a unit that suffered 150 percent casualties, and whose lives became legend.
Chronology: Production began with "boot camp" training in March 2000. Production took eight months. US television premiere on HBO on September 9, 2001. UK television premiere on BBC 2 on October 5, 2001. Released on region 1 DVD in the US on November 5, 2002, and on region 2 DVD in the UK on the same date. Released on Blu-Ray in the UK on November 10, 2008, and in the US on November 11, 2008.
Awards & Nominations:
For his performance as Major Richard Winters in this mini-series, Damian received the following awards and nominations:
The mini-series also received the following awards:
The mini-series received these additional nominations:
Principal Cast & Crew: Nicholas Aaron as Pvt. Robert "Popeye" Wynn; Kirk Acevedo as SSgt. Joseph Toye; Doug Allen as Sgt. Alton More; David Andrews as Gen. Taylor; William Armstrong as Gen. McAuliffe; Eion Bailey as Pvt. David Kenyon Webster; Jamie Bamber as 2nd Lt. Jack Foley; Phil Barantini as Sgt. Wayne "Skinny" Sisk; Joel Beckett as Officer in cinema; Kristina Brändén as Gertrud; Jonie Broom as Hans Schmidt; George Calil as Pvt. James "Moe" Alley; Ben Caplan as Cpl. Walter "Smokey" Gordon; Matthew Casey as German soldier; Doug Cockle as Father John Maloney; Alexis Conran as Lt. Lavenson; David Crow as Cpl. Nicksons; Michael Cudlitz as Sgt. Denver "Bull" Randleman; Marcos D'Cruze as Joseph P. Domingus; Tony Devlin as Pvt. Ralph Spina; Jason Done as Drunk GI; Christoph Dostal as Senior German; Matthew Duquenoy as C-47 pilot; Dale Dye as Col. Robert Sink; Michael Edmiston as Training jumpmaster; Jonathan Edwards Young as Lt. John Kelly; James Embree as Easy Company sergeant; Jimmy Fallon as 2nd Lt. George Rice; Freddie Joe Farnsworth as Trooper on horse; Michael Fassbender as Sgt. Burton "Pat" Christenson; Simon Fenton as Pvt. Gerald Lorraine; Dexter Fletcher as SSgt. John Martin; Jordan Frieda as Replacement; Dirk Galuba as German MP; Ezra Godden as Pvt. Robert van Klinken; Rick Gomez as Sgt. George Luz; Stephen Graham as Sgt. Myron "Mike" Ranney; Luke Griffin as Sgt. Terence "Salty" Harris; Scott Grimes as TSgt. Donald Malarkey; Jack Gustav as German soldier; Colin Hanks as 2nd Lt. Henry Jones; Tom Hanks as British officer; Jamie Harding as French boy in Paris subway; Tom Hardy as Pfc. John Janovec; Craig Heaney as Pvt. Roy Cobb; Ben Hecker as German man in flat; Nolan Hemmings as Sgt. Charles "Chuck" Grant; Josefine Hendriks as Dutch girl in farm; Paul Herzberg as German doctor at checkpoint; Matt Hickey as Pvt. Patrick O'Keefe; Billy Hill as Dutch boy; Paul Hornsby as German soldier; Nigel Hoyle as Pvt. Leo Boyle; Andrew Howard as Capt. Clarence Hester; Mark Huberman as Pvt. Lester "Leo" Hashey; Frank John Hughes as SSgt. William "Wild Bill" Guarnere; Maxwell Hutcheon as German waiter; Adam James as Pvt. Cleveland Petty; Lucie Jeanne as Renee Lemaire; Corey Johnson as Maj. Kent; Marc Jordan as Pvt. John T. Julian; Wolf Kahler as German general; Diana Kent as Mrs. Lamb; Robin Laing as Pvt. Edward "Babe" Heffron; Mark Lawrence as Cpl. William Dukeman; Matthew Leitch as SSgt. Floyd "Tab" Talbert; Damian Lewis as Maj. Richard D. Winters; John Light as Lt. Col. Dobie; Ron Livingston as Capt. Lewis Nixon; Richard Lynson as Officer in hospital; Laird Macintosh as Jeep driver; James Madio as Sgt. Frank Perconte; Donald Malarkey as Himself; Christian Malcolm as MP at Lansberg; Rocky Marshall as Cpl. Earl "One Lung" McLung; Tim Matthews as Cpl. Alex Penkala; Joseph May as Lt. Shames; Peter McCabe as Cpl. Donald Hoobler; James McAvoy as Pvt. James Miller; Ross McCall as Cpl. Joseph Liebgott; Stephen McCole as 1st Lt. Frederick T. "Moose" Heyliger; Neal McDonough as 1st Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton; Phil McKee as Lt. Col. Robert L. Strayer; Hugo Metsers III as John van Kooijk; Ben Montague as Pvt. Matt McDowell; Rene L. Moreno as Pvt. Joseph Ramirez; Hans-Georg Nenning as German Baker; David Nicolle as 2nd Lt. Thomas Peacock; Kieran O'Brien as Pvt. Allen Vest; Kieran O'Donnell as German soldier; Jason O'Mara as 1st Lt. Thomas Meehan; Peter O'Meara as 1st Lt. Norman Dike; Jonjo O'Neill as Replacement #1; Simon Pegg as 1st Sgt. William Evans; John Perkins as German Soldier; Ben Peyton as Warr. Off. Andrew Hill; Andrew Lee Potts as Pvt. Eugene Jackson; Dave Power as Pvt. Dietrich; Norman Campbell Rees as German prisoner; Philip Rham as German colonel; Luke Roberts as Herbert J. Suerth; Iain Robertson as Pvt. George Smith; Suzanne Roquette as German widow; Toby Ross-Bryant as Paul Jones; Wil Röttgen as German officer; Bart Ruspoli as Pvt. Edward Tipper; Alex Sabga as Cpl. Francis "Frank" Mellet; Paul Sacks as Easy Company jeep driver; Simon Schatzberger as Pvt. Joseph Lesniewski; David Schwimmer as Capt. Herbert Sobel; Andrew Scott as Pvt. John "Cowboy" Hall; Graham Seed as Red Beret brigadier general; Isabella Seibert as German girl with Janovec; Matthew Settle as Capt. Ronald Speirs; Douglas Spain as Pvt. Antonio Garcia; Richard Speight, Jr. as Sgt. Warren "Skip" Muck; Peter Stark as German inside barn; William Tapley as Capt. Paige; Anatol Taubman as Otto Herzfeld; Shane Taylor as Cpl. Eugene Roe; Milo Twomey as Army doctor; Dan van Husen as Alleged commandant; Ian Virgo as Soldier; Donnie Wahlberg as 2nd Lt. C. Carwood Lipton, Stephen Walters as John McGrath; Rick Warden as 1st Lt. Harry Welsh; Marc Warren as Pvt. Albert Blithe; Rupert Wickham as Brain surgeon; Richard D. Winters as Himself; Jack Wouterse as Dutch farmer; Peter Youngblood Hills as SSgt. Darrel "Shifty" Powers; Directed by Phil Alden Robinson (Part 1 - Currahee), Richard Loncraine (Part 2 - Day of Days), Mikael Salomon (Parts 3 - Carentan and Part 10 - Points), David Nutter (Part 4 - Replacements), Tom Hanks (Part 5 - Crossroads), David Leland (Part 6 - Bastogne), David Frankel (Part 7 - The Breaking Point and Part 9 - Why We Fight), Tony To (Part 8 - The Last Patrol); Written by Erik Jendresen (Parts 1, 5 and 10), Tom Hanks (Part 1), John Orloff (Parts 2 and 9), E. Max Frye (Part 3), Graham Yost (Parts 4 and 7), Bruce C. McKenna (Parts 4, 6 and 8), Erik Bork (Parts 8 and 10); Based on Book Written by Stephen Ambrose; Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Links:
Episode Guide:
Part 1 - Currahee: They were ordinary men, swept up in the most extraordinary conflict in history. With the eyes of the world upon them, they found their greatest source of strength in each other. From Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, this is the story of Easy Company--an elite team of U.S. paratroopers whose WWII exploits are as incredible as they are true. Part 1 begins on June 4, 1944, in England, as Lts. Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon reflect on the past that led them to D-Day.
Part 2 - Day of Days: Planes carrying thousands of paratroopers cross the English Channel into French airspace, where German flak causes the pilots to drop them in a less than safe and organized fashion. Lt. Winters lands alone in a field, soon joined by John Hall, a private from another company. Executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg bring to life renowned WWII historian Stephen Ambrose's nonfiction book about an Army rifle company that parachuted into France on D-Day.
Part 3 - Carentan: After regrouping in the town of Angoville-au-Plain, Easy Company tries to capture the town of Carentan. Two days after D-Day, some members of Easy Company are still lost and alone in Normandy, including Pvt. Albert Blithe, who finds the rest of the unit just in time to help take Carentan, which Allied armor from Utah and Omaha beaches need in order to link up. Later, the company returns to England, but celebrations are short-lived when news comes that they'll be moving out again.
Part 4 - Replacements: Fresh replacements join Easy Company in time for a massive paradrop into German-occupied Holland. The Dutch townspeople of Eindhoven welcome them as liberators, but when Easy and a cluster of British tanks move into a nearby town, a superior German force inflicts many casualties and forces a retreat. As they move onto another assignment in Holland, Capt. Winters laments the retreat, and Capt. Nixon thinks that the ambitious Allied operation seems to have failed.
Part 5 - Crossroads: Capt. Winters leads a contingent of Easy Company men on a risky mission over a Dutch dike that results in a "turkey shoot" of fleeing Germans, and is promoted to Battalion Executive Officer, leaving Easy Company in the hands of Lt. "Moose" Heyliger. After moving back off the line to France, Lt. Nixon insists that Winters take a break and see Paris. But when Winters returns, news comes in of a massive German counterattack in the Ardennes Forest.
Part 6 - Bastogne: In the dead of winter, in the forest outside of Bastogne, Belgium, Easy Company struggles to hold the line alone, while fending off frostbite and hunger. An overwhelmed Medic Eugene Roe, on edge and close to combat exhaustion, finds friendship with a Belgian nurse. Easy spends a miserable Christmas in the trenches, but is buoyed after hearing news that General McAuliffe met the German Army's demand for surrender with the defiant answer: "Nuts!"
Part 7 - The Breaking Point: Having thwarted the Germans at Bastogne, Belgium, an exhausted Easy Company must now take the nearby town of Foy from the enemy. Several are killed and wounded in fierce shelling, compounded by the incompetence of their new commander, Lt. Dike, about whom Winters can do nothing. Easy takes Foy, but at an enormous cost.
Part 8 - The Last Patrol: Easy Company arrives in an Alsacian town near the German border, and is ordered to send a patrol across the river to take enemy prisoners. Lt. Hank Jones, fresh from West Point and eager for combat experience, volunteers to lead, though he must convince a skeptical Winters. Also assigned to the patrol is Pvt. David Webster, back in Easy after rehabilitation of an injury. While successful, the mission costs a soldier's life.
Part 9 - Why We Fight: Easy Company finally enters Germany to surprisingly little resistance, and relaxes for the first time in months. A patrol in a nearby forest discovers an abandoned Nazi concentration camp, still filled with emaciated prisoners. The local citizenry, unbelievably disavowing knowledge of its existence, is made to clean it up. Suddenly, news arrives from Berlin--Adolf Hitler committed suicide!
Part 10 - Points: Major Winters leads Easy Company into the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden--once home to top Nazi officers--and receives orders to take the abandoned Eagle's Nest, Hitler's mountaintop fortress. As German officers hand over their weapons, soldiers raid wine cellars and snap up souvenirs. But their elation is short-lived--most of the division faces redeployment to the Pacific Theater. A closing vignette tells what happened to the men of Easy Company after they returned home.
We Stand Alone Together: This documentary, executive-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, tells the remarkable story of the men of Easy Company featuring recent interviews with the real-life company members, whose deeds are dramatized in the miniseries, combined with rare and archival photographs and film footage.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Beauty And Death
Project type: Radio recording
Synopsis: This radio production was part of the charitable organization Scene & Heard's Generation Next project. Scene & Heard is a unique mentoring project that partners the inner-city children of Somers Town, London, with volunteer theatre professionals, providing each child who participates with quality one-on-one adult attention and an experience of personal success through the process of writing and performing plays. With each of the Next Generation plays, the young playwrights were asked to create dramas comparing Britain with their families' countries of origin. The rules: The plays could include no more than two characters, and neither character could be human. In Beauty And Death, Mashuda Sweaty, a sunset, cares greatly about the people of Bangladesh and considers them all her friends. The arrow Anger Cruel, meanwhile, seeks a quiet world without people. He thinks that the world would be a better, more peaceful place without people. He trains his arrow friends to fight and kill.
Chronology: Probably recorded in the autumn of 2006. Presented on BBC World Service Radio's programme Outlook on December 4, 2006, as the first of five short radio dramas (each written by a London youth between the ages of 10 and 12) presented throughout the week (December 4-8, 2006).
Principal Cast & Crew: Damian Lewis as Anger Cruel; Nina Wadia as Mashuda Sweaty; Directed by Marion Nancarrow; Written by Promi Chowdhury, age 11.
Links:
Detailed Synopsis:
Mashuda Sweaty is a beautiful sunset shining over Bangladesh. When the arrow Anger Cruel encounters her, he is instantly attracted and begins to fall in love with her. However, she despises him for training his arrows to kill. He explains that he does this because he hates the noise that people create in the world. But Mashuda, who loves people, understands why there is noise and welcomes it as part of what makes people special.
Anger orders his arrows to kill the people of Bangladesh and initiates plans to kill all of the people of the world. The attack takes place, and before long, no living people remain in Bangladesh. Mashuda mourns their deaths and shines brightly in their honour. Meanwhile, Anger revels in the quiet. He pursues Mashuda romantically, mesmerised by her beauty. She rejects him and tells him of the beauty of the people he has now had killed. He claims that Bangladesh is now a place of peace, but Mashuda says it is now not a place of peace, but of loneliness. Anger feels remorse and apologises.
Suddenly, thunder comes and strikes Mashuda, threatening to kill her. Anger orders his arrows to kill the thunder and save Mashuda the sunset's life. She is saved and thanks him. He again attempts his romantic pursuit of her. She again rejects him, and he threatens her by saying the thunder may return. She continues to reject his advances, and he ultimately orders his arrows to kill her. Mashuda dies. Anger is remorseful over what he has done and is ashamed that he is innately evil and cannot change. He mourns for her, and he declares that she will remain beautiful forever.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Blue Peter: Laurel & Hardy
Project type: Television programme
Synopsis: The children's television programme Blue Peter has been shown on BBC televlsion in the UK since 1958. (The programme is named for the familiar blue and white flag ships display while on sea voyages.) This episode features guest Damian taking part in a recreation of the famous comedic wallpaper sketch originally performed by Laurel & Hardy. The slapstick farce routine centers on two men attempting to decorate a room with wallpaper, despite having no experience and ample clumsiness.
Chronology: Probably recorded in early November 2002. Presented on BBC television on November 11, 2002.
Principal Cast & Crew: Matt Baker as _____; Peter Duncan as _____; Damian Lewis as _____; Directed by James Morgan.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Bolivia For Sale
Project type: Television documentary short film
Synopsis: Since the 1980s, Bolivia has followed the free-trade model commonly known as the Washington Consensus. Simply put, this means privatizing all state-owned enterprise, and opening up domestic markets to international investment and competition. Although privatization has worked well in some regions of the world, it has led to adverse results in other places, such as Bolivia. Damian Lewis visited Bolivia on behalf of Christian Aid in November 2005 to explore for himself the conditions of this poverty-stricken country, meet with some key people and gather information.
Chronology: Filmed in during the week of November 14, 2005, on location in Bolivia. Presented as part of Fairtrade Fortnight on the Community Channel in the UK, March 9-16, 2006.
Principal Cast & Crew: Maxima Cari (interviewee); Diego (interviewee); Javier Gomez (interviewee); Damian Lewis (host and narrator); Abrahim Mamani (interviewee); Gabriel Mamani (interviewee); Carlos Rojas (interviewee); Pablo Solon (interviewee); Directed by Dylan Howitt.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Brides
Project type: Cinematic film
Synopsis: In 1922, a mail-order bride, one of 700 aboard the S.S. King Alexander, and an American photographer fall in love. However, she is bound for her new husband in America, and he is on his way home to a failed marriage.
Chronology: In production approximately from May 2003 through probably sometime during the summer of 2003. Released in cinemas in Greece on October 22, 2004; Australia on September 29, 2005; South Africa on August 12, 2005; and Turkey on October 14, 2005. Released on region 2 DVD in Greece on April 4, 2005, and on Region 4 DVD in Australia on July 12, 2006. Additional details regarding potential international distribution -- cinematic and DVD -- have not yet been announced.
Film Festivals & Other Special Screenings:
Awards & Nominations:
The film received the following awards:
Principal Cast & Crew: Steven Berkoff as Karaboulat; Victoria Haralabidou as Niki Douka; Andréa Ferréol as Emine; Irene Iglessi as Miss Kardaki; Dimitris Katalifos as Captain; Liza Kouznetsova as Olga; Damian Lewis as Norman Harris; Yorgos Markis as Prodromos; Evelina Papoulia as Marion; Eleni Roussinou as Elena; Evi Saoulidou as Haro; Kostas Somar as Kostas; Apostolis Totsikas as Nikolai; Directed by Pantelis Voulgaris; Written by Ioanna Karystiani.
Links:
Detailed Synopsis:
It is the summer of 1922 in Samothrace, Greece. Niki Douka, an austerely beautiful twenty-five year-old seamstress, is preparing for a voyage to America. Rather than lose a good bridegroom, her family has unanimously decided to send her to Chicago as a replacement for her sister, Eleni. Eleni has returned because she was unable to bear living so far from home, despite the fact that the prospective husband -- Prodromos, a tailor by profession - treated her with kindness. So, with the unused wedding dress her sister would have worn and the photograph of the bridegroom in her luggage, Niki leaves for the New World.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, Norman Harris, a disillusioned American photographer, is on the last leg of his unsuccessful trip through Asia Minor and the Orient. The American newspapers with whom he works have turned down his photographs of the war he was covering, and he is headed back to the States and his crumbling marriage.
Norman and Niki are sailing on the same ship, the S.S. King Alexander. He travels in first class. She is in third class, along with 700 other mail-order brides, most of them Greek, but with a number of Rumanian, Turkish and Russian girls. Each of them carries the photograph of a bridegroom she has never met, and a cheap bridal gown in her small trunk.
Norman is moved at the sight of the swarm of women in third class. The melancholy, the honest faces uncertain about the future and the sparks of hope drive him to the ship's Captain requesting permission to create their portraits. Of all of the brides, Niki is the one who makes the greatest impression on him. Gradually they get to know each other and fall in love.
As the ship makes its way across the sea, the stories of Haro, the strikingly beautiful girl from Thrace with the oud; Captain Marinos, the shrewd seaman; Nikolai, the teen-aged steward; Olga, the angelic young Russian; Emine, the famous businesswoman and fortuneteller; and Karaboulat, the despicable pimp, are woven into the tale of the growing love between Niki and Norman.
One night, as the ship nears America, Haro, who was forced to leave behind her beloved in order to marry a Greek immigrant in Canada, kills herself. Her death serves as the catalyst prompting Norman to confess his love for Niki who, torn between her love for Norman and her duty to her family, awakens the next morning with her hair having turned completely white.
The S.S. King Alexander sails into New York Harbor. Waiting on the docks are the expectant and impatient bridegrooms hundreds of Greek and Balkan men, including Prodromos. Niki must choose her life's course.
Brides is a story about strong emotions, about dilemmas, about conscience, about a responsible attitude. It is about the little moments, the glances, the touches, the "yeses" an the "nos" that count in life.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Chromophobia
Project type: Cinematic film
Synopsis: Chromophobia tells the story of Marcus Aylesbury, whose wife Iona can’t tell the difference between a shrink and a shop. His eight year old son Orlando spray paints his rabbit’s name on the walls to get attention whilst his gay godfather Stephen lies half beaten to death in hospital. Marcus’ boss is drawing him into a scam, which could cost him his career, his father Edward Aylesbury has an illegitimate love child with his former mistress, Gloria and her social worker Colin, cannot help prying in to her past and present. Marcus’ stepmother Penelope’s bond with her dogs is his best role model of a loving relationship. Every family has a secret it hides behind the walls of its home ... and these are the dilemmas and secrets of Marcus Aylesbury. When Marcus’s old “friend” Trent, a tabloid journalist, gets wind of a story he knows will make him a media star, the good old virtues of honesty, loyalty and friendship are sacrificed to the new morality of success and celebrity. Chromophobia is a darkly comedic drama which relentlessly pulls its characters into situations which threaten their stable place in a society where privilege and birth are no longer powerful enough to protect the fortunate few, and where the American values of money, beauty and success have become the cornerstones of contemporary London life.
Chronology: In production from August 20, 2004, through October 10, 2004. Released in cinemas in Italy on March 10, 2006; France on May 10, 2006; Israel on October 26, 2006, and Spain on May 18, 2007. Released on region 2 DVD in France for rental on November 23, 2006, and for sale on January 4, 2007. Released in cinemas in the UK on December 14, 2007. Released on region 2 DVD in the UK on April 7, 2008. It potentially may be released in cinemas in other locations in 2008, but the geography and timing details of this tentative distribution are not yet known.
Film Festivals & Other Special Screenings:
Principal Cast & Crew: Ben Chaplin as Trent Masters; Penélope Cruz as Gloria Ramirez de Arroyo; Ralph Fiennes as Stephen Tulloch; Sir Ian Holm as Edward Aylesbury; Rhys Ifans as Colin Griffin; Damian Lewis as Marcus Aylesbury; Hannah Stokely as P.R. Woman; Kristin Scott Thomas as Iona Aylesbury; Clem Tibber as Orlando; Jason Tobin as Fat Boy; Harriet Walter as Penelope Aylesbury; Directed by Martha Fiennes; Written by Martha Fiennes.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Colditz
Project type: Television film
Synopsis: Scottish soldier Nick McGrade is working for the Secret Service during World War II. He falls in love with the beautiful Lizzie, who is the girlfriend of Nick's friend and fellow soldier, Jack Rose. The story follows soldiers Nick, Jack and Tom Willis as they escape from a Nazi POW camp. Jack and Tom are recaptured and sent to the notorious prison Colditz. However, Nick makes it back to London and joins MI9, the agency set up to help British troops escape. Jack has asked Nick to find Lizzie and tell her he's all right, but Nick falls for her as soon as he sees her.
Chronology: In production in the spring and early summer of 2004. Television premiere on ITV1 in the UK on March 27-28, 2005. Released on region 2 DVD in the UK on March 28, 2005. Presented on television (mostly on Hallmark Channel networks) in several other geographic markets worldwide through 2005 and 2006. Relesed on region 1 DVD in the US on December 12, 2006. Plans, if any, for a US television screening or any additional international DVD distribution are not yet known.
Awards & Nominations:
The film received the following award:
The film received the following nomination:
Principal Cast & Crew: Alex Avery as Collins; Joseph Beattie as Barnes; Lucie Brezovska as Farmer's Wife; Pavel Cajzl as Swiss Man; Robert Cambrinus as Tony De Jongh; Teresa Churcher as Mother; Bogdan Cieslar as Translator; Stephanie Cornicard as LeBlanc; Werner Daehn as Corporal Ullman; Armin Dillenberger as Meisner; Charles Edwards as Ellways; Tim Faraday as Sergeant (Vera); James Fox as Lt. Colonel Jimmy Fordham; Laurence Fox as Tom Willis; Scott Handy as Mullan; Tom Hardy as Jack Rose; Daniel Hawksford as Cole; Abigail Hayes as WVS Woman; Guy Henry as Sawyer; Juliet Howland as Mary; Blanka Jarosova as Mrs. M; Charles Kay as Colonel Henry Cartwright; Eva Kelemenova as German Woman; Joel Kirby as Soldier On Train 2; Pavel Kriz as Mikhael; Damian Lewis as Lieutenant Nicholas McGrade; Petr Meissel as Novak; Eve Myles as Jill; Sophia Myles as Lizzie; Luke Neal as Hewitt; Pavlina Nemcova as Swiss Woman; Jason Priestley as Rhett Barker; Phillip Schenker as German Guard No. 1; Justin Svoboda as Soldier On Train 1; Rudiger Vogler as Fritz Warner; Pavel Vokoun as Van der Bergh; Timothy West as Warren; Daniel Weyman as Bell; Robert Whitelock as Venning; Jiri Wonhanka as German Guard No. 4; Directed by Stuart Orme; Written by Peter Morgan and Richard Cottan; Inspired by Henry Chancellor's book Colditz.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Confessions Of A Diary Secretary
Project type: Television film
Synopsis: This comedy-drama presents an entertaining account of the romantic relationship between deputy prime minister John Prescott and secretary Tracey Temple, and the events following the public revelation of the affair.
Chronology: In production from October through December 2006. UK telelvision premiere on ITV1 in the UK on Febuary 28, 2007, followed immediately by a behind-the-scenes special on the making of the film that same night on ITV3 television in the UK. Details regarding any potential additional television or DVD distribution are not yet known.
Film Festivals & Other Special Screenings:
Principal Cast & Crew: Jonathan Aris as Bernard; Kate Drew as Female Secretary; Richard Durden as Office Manager; Pippa Haywood as Julie Jones; John Henshaw as John Prescott; Tim Hewitt as Waterloo Station Manager; Peter Hugo as Prince Charles; Eiji Kusuhara as Japanese Reporter; Damian Lewis as Tony Blair; Graeme Miller as Aide; Joanna Monro as Mo Mowlam; Maxine Peake as Tracey Temple; Daniel Ryan as Barrie Williams; Tony Slattery as Gordon Brown; Rebekah Staton as Claire; John White as Security Officer. Directed by Andy Wilson. Written by Tony Basgallop.
Links:
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, 1997
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, from February 26, 1997 (Press Night), through August 18, 1997. (Previewed February 20, 1997.)
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Patrice Naiambana as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Snow as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
| A video of this production, taped at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1997, is available for viewing at the Shakespeare Centre Library, Henley Street, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Appointments are recommended, and the video is available only for on-site viewing. It is not available for loan, rental, duplication or purchase. For information, visit this link: http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/234/234 An audio recording of this production, taped at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre on February 26, 1997, is available for listening at the British Library Sound Archives, Euston Road, London. Appointments are recommended (and perhaps required), and the recording is available only for on-site listening. It is not available for loan, rental, duplication or purchase. For information, visit this link: http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archive/cat.html and search the catalog using the keywords "damian lewis". |
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Theatre Royal, Newcastle, 1997
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, from October 14, 1997 (Press Night), through October 18, 1997.
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Patrice Naiambana as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Show as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Theatre Royal, Plymouth, 1997
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, from November 5, 1997 (Press Night), through November 8, 1997.
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Patrice Naiambana as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Show as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Barbican Theatre, London, 1998
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre, London, from January 20, 1998 (Press Night), through May 7, 1998. (Previewed January 15, 1998.) Also, the Barbican Center ran a series called "On The Edge," a series of events designed to give extra insight into current Royal Shakespeare Company productions in the Barbican Theatre and the Pit. On The Edge featured a pre-performance session of Cymbeline at the Barbican Theatre on March 3, 1998.
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Show as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Paul Swinnerton as Attendant; Ewart James Walters as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House, New York, 1998
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House in New York from June 3, 1998 (Press Night), through June 6, 1998.
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Show as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Paul Swinnerton as Attendant; Ewart James Walters as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Light Recreation by Geraint Pughe; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
Performance Details: Cymbeline
Eisenhower Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 1998
Project type: Stage play
Synopsis: Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants and brought up in rustic innocence, unaware of their princely identities. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unfaithful to him. This strange, dark story belongs with the group of romance dramas written by Shakespeare toward the end of his career.
Chronology: Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Eisenhower Theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, from June 24, 1998, through July 5, 1998.
Awards & Nominations:
The production received the following nomination:
Principal Cast & Crew: Jenifer Armitage as Ghost; Rod Arthur as Frenchman / Gaoler; Paul Bentall as Pisanio; Richard Cant as Arviragus; Paul Freeman as Iachimo; David Glover as Ghost / Philario; Guy Henry as Cloten; David Hobbs as Cornelius; Ian Hogg as Belarius; Nicholas Hutchison as Gentleman 2; John Kane as Prologue / Soothsayer; John Killoran as Gentleman 1; Vincent Leigh as Captain / Dutchman; Damian Lewis as Posthumus Leonatus; Joanna McCallum as Queen; Rex Obano as Attendant / Spaniard; Joanne Pearce as Imogen; Edward Petherbridge as Cymbeline; Shuna Show as Helen; Jo Stone-Fewings as Guiderius; Paul Swinnerton as Attendant; Ewart James Walters as Caius Lucius / Jupiter; Directed by Adrian Noble; Designed by Anthony Ward; Light Design by Hugh Vanstone; Light Recreation by Geraint Pughe; Fight Arrangement by Terry King; Movement by Sue Lefton; Music by Stephen Warbeck; Written by William Shakespeare.
Links:
Scene-by-Scene Synopsis:
Act 1 - Scene 1: Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered her father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked Queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline's preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
Act 1 - Scene 2: Cloten's attendants ridicule him.
Act 1 - Scene 3: Pisanio, Posthumus' servant, tells Imogen of his master's departure.
Act 1 - Scene 4: Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen's virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
Act 1 - Scene 5: The doctor Cornelius is suspicious when the Queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The Queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy.
Act 1 - Scene 6: Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight, for safekeeping.
Act 2 - Scene 1: Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
Act 2 - Scene 2: While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus' bracelet from her arm.
Act 2 - Scene 3: When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
Act 2 - Scene 4: Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her.
Act 2 - Scene 5: Posthumus vows revenge.
Act 3 - Scene 1: Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain.
Act 3 - Scene 2: Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
Act 3 - Scene 3: Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
Act 3 - Scene 4: As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus' letter. She begs him "Do his bidding, strike!" Pisanio convinces her that he should report her death to Posthumus; she, meanwhile, must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen's potion, as a remedy for sickness.
Act 3 - Scene 5: Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that "She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown." Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus' clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
Act 3 - Scene 6: When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius' cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
Act 3 - Scene 7: Romans discuss the war with Britain.
Act 4 - Scene 1: Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
Act 4 - Scene 2: Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio's drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in a grave. When Imogen awakes, she sees Cloten's decapitated body in Posthumus' clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
Act 4 - Scene 3: Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge, and swears loyalty to the king.
Act 4 - Scene 4: Belarius wants to see the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.
Act 5 - Scene 1: Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans, is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen's death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
Act 5 - Scene 2: Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
Act 5 - Scene 3: Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus) heroically saved the flagging Briton army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
Act 5 - Scene 4: Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakes from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain's miseries will end.
Act 5 - Scene 5: Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arviragus and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (Posthumus). The Queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius and Arviragus, who are amazed at Fidele's apparent returned from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive sons' true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.
Click here to return to Performance Guide
This site copyright Ann (damiandreamer) 2004 - present. All rights reserved.