Great Adaptation to A Great Work

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Set in Rome and Egypt， the story follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatras suicide. Being one of the most popular drama script， a successful adaption was made by Chinese University of Hong Kong and the performance premiered at the Fifth Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival. In their performance， the presentation to a maximum extent within a minimum space requirement is achieved. The ingeniously-designed stage properties， costumes and wonderful acting call for our attention and appreciation. Successful use of props and music adds to the expressiveness of drama and enhances the aesthetic values as well.

My analysis focuses on is Act I， Scene Ⅲ and Act Ⅱ， Scene V of the drama selection. The plot centers the conflicts between Antony， Cleopatra and an anonymous messenger. Have received the news of his wifes death and also been informed of the grim circumstances in Italy， Antony is eager to leave for his hometown but worried of the reaction of Cleopatra， who regards Antonys returning back as betrayal. Cleopatra treats Antony with tough words and cold attitude， seemingly to push him away but in fact wish him to stay.

The selection starts with a piece of oriental classical music. With the melodious intriguing music， peoples attention is drew back to the prosperous， luxurious aristocratic life in Egypt. On the stage， there are four pieces of ribbon unrolling from the ceiling， which add to the exotic feeling. A mattress with purple satin silk stands in the middle of the stage， providing support for Cleopatra and Charmian （servant to Cleopatra） to rely on. On the left of the stage stands the male servant Alexas， whose player also plays the role of Antony.

The stage properties and costumes designed for the drama are ingenious. The director makes every effort in taking advantage of costumes and props to facilitate the play. Every piece of costume is designed with specialized purposes and needs， and also in accordance with the status and characteristics of the character. For instance， Cleopatra， as the queen of Egypt， is more than wealthy. According to the descriptions ， she enjoys a extremely luxurious life which is described as follows， “The barge she sat in， like a burnishd throne， Burnd on the water： the poop was beaten gold；”

To fit with the extravagant lifestyle and her incomparable beauty and charms， the costume for Cleopatra is a beautiful gown trimmed with laces in the color of shining gold. The clean lines accentuate her shapely figure， while panels of needlework complement her vintage hairdo. What worth our equal attention is the ornaments she wears. An ornamental hair band with a tassel that hangs from the crown glitters under the lighting of the stage. Whenever she moves， the swaying tassel highlights her carriage and postures properly and gracefully. Three gold bracelets on her left hand make a tinkling sound， which strengthens the auditory effect. As for her maid Charmian， a piece of pink silky dress with diamond spotted round the waistband and neckline suits her well. The servant， Alexas， being dressed in a white shirt with a pair of bloomers and black boots seems appropriate.

The props， though small in number， each serves a certain function. The comb at the beginning of Scene Ⅲ has dual functions in characterization. Firstly， it is a tool to reveal the relationship between characters， to be more specific， to discriminate between the dramatis personae， Cleopatra， and the supporting role， Charmian. Through the employment of such a minor but significant device， Cleopatra distinguishes herself as a respectable royal queen who is carefully attended upon. Secondly， the comb is also an indicator of the mood of the characters and helps bring out certain emotions. When Cleopatra is perturbed， she grabs the comb and combs her hire by herself； when she gets infuriated by Charmians remarks， she snatches the comb suddenly and throws that away.

Besides， the bed on the middle of the stage acts as a backdrop in most of the time， since rarely do the actors lie or stand on it. But there is a time when Cleopatra sees Antony enter the room after reading the letter concerning his wife， she collapses on the mattress and wails. In this occasion the bed offers another scope to present the inner feeling through actors outer behaviors， thus pushing forward the plots.

The acting skill is one of the most important parameters in evaluating a play. In this adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra， the actors did a good job. The best actor among the three， from my point of view， is the one who casts the role of Cleopatra. First of all， she adopts different varieties of intonations， stresses and pauses in her performance. Instead of reading the lines plainly and lifelessly， she lays great emphasis on the variation of sound patterns. There is a monologue when she is too angry to accept Antonys leaving. For a moment， she indulges in the sweet memories of Antony whispering lovers honeyed words into her ears， but then her emotion turns into flames of fury. When she is in nostalgia， her voice softens and slows down. The tone is mild and placid. There are also relatively long pauses， indicating her longing for going back to the old days. However， when it turns to the cruel reality， she realizes that all the dreams are broken. She speeds up her articulation， raises her pitch and lays emphasis on the word great and liar to show her rage and disappointment. The employment of phonological devices make great contribution to the effect of her performance.

Secondly， the actor of Cleopatra makes good use of non-verbal communication， especially facial expressions， which helps present the extension and intension of the vitality of Cleopatra in an all-round way. The best combination of facial expression and body movement is realized in the middle part of the selection. When she hears of the news that Antony has been married the Caesars sister， she is too astonished to accept the truth. With a hysterical expression， she strikes the messenger violently and mercilessly. She launches a brutal kick in the messengers thighs. She seizes his hair， hales him up and down and even rides on him and slaps across the face. With a vicious but heart-broken expression on her face， she presents the unbelievable and unacceptable attitude to the news vividly and effectively.

Apart from her marvellous performance， the performance of the other two actors is also fascinating and noteworthy， especially the male actors dual roles， which should be a great challenge for any actor in theater. In such a short period of time， the actor need to get “dressed” not only physically， but also “mentally” - to get ready to be changed inside out. He should act as two totally different roles， each having their own characteristics and features. In this adaptation， the servant Alexas and Roman general Antony are， to some extent， polar opposites. One is the the major antagonist， the greatest soldier in the world， brave and skillful in warfare； the other is a minor one， a yellow-bellied yes-man. The sharp contrast between the personality of the two also contributes to the degree of difficulty as well as the aesthetic value of appreciation.

If there is anything that needs improvement， the coherence of conversation can be one. In the selection there are flaming rows between Antony and Cleopatra. For several times Mark Antony should be cut off in midstream. The ideal effect should be that Antony attempts to further his speech， persuading Cleopatra to listen to him， while Cleopatra insists taking the domination， turning a deaf ear to his begging for forgiveness and understanding. However， Cleopatra fails to interject and interrupt Antonys remarks， nor does Antony show any sign or intention of continuing his words. In the selection， the two actors fail to create such a tense atmosphere， thus leaving the plot less cohesive and authentic.

Generally speaking， the adaptation of Shakespeares classic work by Chinese University of Hong Kong is a great success. Looking at it with critical view， it surely requires improvement and further development in terms of acting and editing. But this doesnt affect its becoming a good example and also source material for the artistic research and appreciation for William Shakespeares masterpieces. Performances and activities of such kind should be publicized and promoted for English learners.

【作者簡介】魏也娜（1997.5.26- ），女，山西長治人，武漢大學外國語言文學學院本科在讀大三年級，主要研究方向：英語語言文學及語言學。