There's a reason why Cymbeline is so rarely performed: it’s a hard-work play. The knottiest of Shakespeare’s late romances, this centrifugal fairytale-cum-political-power-struggle contains a tangle of divergent plots that explode into a fifth act stuffed with no fewer than 36 resolutions.
Despite such unwieldiness it remains capable of achieving a shimmering sort of transcendence, which this production singularly fails to do, even though director Melly Still throws absolutely everything at it. The trouble is, not that much sticks, leaving the rest to slide slowly down and increase the murky puddle of muddle.
The setting is a vague post-Brexit dystopia, full of oddly upcycled clothes. Five characters, including Cymbeline (Gillian Bevan), have been switched from male to female, which is fine in itself, but there’s some surprisingly substandard acting across the ensemble. I’ve never seen the central romance between honest Innogen (Bethan Cullinane) and impetuous Posthumus (Hiran Abeysekera) look less convincing.
For all Still’s efforts, the political commentary about a sclerotic English kingdom under a weak monarch fails to coalesce. Cullinane, as the princess about whom the action pivots, gives a committed performance which nonetheless fails to attain the heights of Innogen’s grace and nobility. A night most notable for its rarity value.
Latest theatre reviews
In rep until Aug 12 (01789 403493, rsc.org.uk).
Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
