For the opening of the play, the entire cast is on stage, and the conversation between the two gentlemen in the text becomes a way of introducing the characters, with different characters stepping forward as they're mentioned. Everyone acts as a sort of Chorus here. Interestingly, Cymbeline (Bernard K. Addison) himself delivers the lines, "He had two sons" and "Some twenty years," which stresses the importance of their disappearance on his subsequent life, setting up the notion that perhaps all his mistakes stem from that event. Cymbeline is dressed in a black hat and coat, and wears a sheriff's badge, though he is still referred to as King. Posthumus (Peter Mendoza) interestingly is also dressed in black, giving the impression that the two are in some way aligned. And so they are, for they both love Imogen. As Posthumus and Imogen exchange their tokens of love, JD Cullum enters and plays guitar, a score to their intimate scene. JD Cullum (who was fantastic as Caliban in Antaeus Theatre's 2023 production of The Tempest, and delivered another strong performance in this year's Corktown '39 at Rogue Machine) plays several parts in this production, distinguishing each character not by a change of costume (except with a pair of glasses or hat), but with changes to his voice and posture. At one point, he remains on stage for three consecutive scenes, portraying a different character in each scene, and keeping each clear for the audience.
Both Peter Mendoza as Posthumus and Gerard Joseph as Iachimo do nice jobs in the scene where Iachimo proposes testing Imogen's fidelity. Iachimo's delivery of the blunt "Yours" (in answer to the question, "What lady would you choose to assail?") is funny, and Iachimo steps toward Posthumus on that line as a further challenge. And in his scene with Imogen, on her "to my demands," Imogen goes to him, even placing her hand on his shoulder, for he has turned his back to her. So he gets her to touch him first, which is brilliant. Gerard Joseph is particularly good in the scene in Imogen's bed chamber, and as he violates her by moving the sheet to view her body, the ticking of a clock strikes an ominous note. While Iachimo is a villain, and takes a certain joy in his wager, the Queen (Eve Gordon), by comparison, takes a particular delight in being a villain, and her delivery of "shall quite unpeople her," with that pause before "unpeople," is especially telling in that regard (and gets a big laugh from the audience). Cloten (Randolph Thompson) is another villain in the play, but one whose arrogance comes across as funny, and in this production we can't help but like him on some level because of that. Randolph Thompson is particularly good at finding the humor, heard in his delivery of a line like "I had rather not be so noble as I am." And his delivery of the "I love her and hate her" speech is excellent. In that scene, he makes a seat of Pisania. Cloten also gets a moment to sing to JD Cullum's guitar accompaniment, something else that endears him to us. Truly terrible people don't sing, right?
The entire cast is good, but, as I mentioned, Elinor Gunn is especially magnificent as Imogen. She is fiery and spirited, not shrinking back before Cymbeline in the scene where Posthumus is banished. And she is absolutely adorable when talking about Posthumus to Pisania. Yes, Pisanio, servant to Posthumus, in this production becomes Pisania (Desiree Mee Jung), which helps to focus more strongly on that character's service and friendship to Imogen. It gives a different feel to the scene where Pisania hands the letter to Imogen. Imogen is so cheerful, so excited at getting a letter from Posthumus. Her happiness is almost over the top, giving her the greater distance to fall, and making the contrast with Pisania's expression all the more extreme. Imogen is great in the scene where she is assailed by Iachimo, not an easy scene. She pauses before answering "All's well, sir," which is needed, showing she is not so easily swayed, showing she thinks before speaking. And when frantically searching for her missing bracelet, Imogen all but ignores Cloten, finding him a minor annoyance and not worthy of her attention, which is wonderful. Her line "all the hairs above thee" gets a greater laugh than normal, as Cloten is bald. And when dressed as a boy (yes, this is one of Shakespeare's plays where the main female character disguises herself as a boy for a while), she is delightful. Her first line as a boy, "I see a man's life is a tedious one," gets a deserved big laugh. And her delivery of "Such a foe, good heavens" (with knife raised) is hilarious. She is dressed in a pants and a flannel shirt, but no hat, her long hair in a ponytail, which makes it perhaps a bit far-fetched that Cymbeline doesn't immediately recognize her at the end. But no matter.
Peter Mendoza is particularly good in the scene where Iachimo tells him that Imogen has been unfaithful. Iachimo's biting, scathing line "Not a whit, your lady being so easy" doesn't sway Posthumus, who remains joyful, not believing him. And Posthumus' line "O! no, no, no, 'tis true" contains an entire arc of its own the way that Mendoza delivers it. Each "no" has its own meaning, its own point. That is a fantastic moment between the two of them. And after Posthumus runs off in a state, Iachimo's "With all my heart" is delivered with a sudden compassion, and we sense a change in him then. That prepares us for the play's ending.
As Pisanio becomes Pisania in this production, so too does Belarius become Belaria (Eve Gordon), which gives a somewhat different feel to the relationship between her and the two sons. For in the play, Belarius is a replacement father figure (replacing Cymbeline), where here the character becomes a mother figure, which is complementary to a father (so at the end, we could imagine all being together, if we wished). Eve Gordon does a tremendous job as Belaria. Interestingly, the two sons are played by women in this production (though the gender of the characters is not changed), and both - Teodora Avramovic as Guiderius, and Anja Racić as Arviragus - are absolutely wonderful in the roles. In fact, Teodora Avramovic turns in one of the production's best and most enjoyable perfomances. Teodora Avramovic is especially wonderful when going off to take care of Cloten and calling "Yield" (their fight is done off stage in this production), and coming back with that sack. I love how sure of himself this Guiderius is. His line "the law protects not us" stands out in these uncertain days when our Supreme Court is corrupt and not to be trusted. Avramovic gives such a delightful reading of the line "And tell the fishes he's the queen's son" as Guiderius gathers up the sack and exits. Both brothers deliver a moving rendition of the "Fear no more the heat o' the sun" song, with JD Cullum coming out to accompany them on guitar.
As the first scene was delivered, so too is the battle scene done with all the actors delivering the lines, acting as a Chorus, all of them together, with hands raised, speaking the added line, "Cymbeline is rescued." Cymbeline's transformation at the end is one that we feel can feel in ourselves, so moving is Bernard K. Addison's performance there. Another line that especially stands out in the strange days we find ourselves in is "A most incivil one," which Guiderius says of the prince Cloten. It is a line that reminds us that leaders should not be respected just for their station. But it is the play's final message that really sticks with us, a message of forgiveness, which comes not only from Cymbeline, but also from Posthumus, who tells Iachimo, "Live and deal with others better."
This production of Cymbeline runs through November 17, 2025. Check the theatre's website for the complete schedule. There is one intermission, which comes at the end of Act III scene v. Antaeus Theatre Company performs at Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center at 110 East Broadway in Glendale, California.
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