Moxie Theatre and Loud Fridge Theatre Group are co-producing Joy Yvonne Jones’ world premiere drama
Joy Yvonne Jones as Cleopatra in her play “Cleopatra,” now in production at Moxie Theatre in San Diego. Virtually everything we’ve learned about the Egyptian’s queen’s 21-year rule and her relationships with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Marc Antony was written centuries ago by men, who both sexualized and exoticized her and saw her ambition for power as unseemly for a woman.
In Jones’ play, Cleopatra is not a casual seductress but a savvy ruler who understands that forging relationships with leaders of the Roman Republic will stabilize her country. Her Cleopatra is keenly aware of the discrimination she faces from Romans as a dark-skinned woman. And when she give birth to Caesar’s son, Caesarean, she suffers from postpartum depression.
Much of the play, which was directed by Andréa Agosto, is delivered in monologue. Although Jones shares the stage in most scenes with actor Kayla Adorno, who plays Cleopatra’s devoted servant Charmian, Adorno has only a few lines. Caesar is never present and Antony is played in pre-recorded film segments by the smooth-talking DeAndre Simmons. A few audience members are also given scripts to perform a line here and there.
While I think the play could use more development, I appreciated seeing Cleopatra take back her voice in a freshly imagined way.
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