"Cymbeline"
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Barbara Bosch
Summer, 1997.
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"Cymbeline" |
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From the Dramaturg, Mark Ringer:
Cymbeline was first presented by Shakespeare's company around 1611. It is one of his last plays along with Pericles, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Like these other plays, Cymbeline reveals Shakespeare's interest in the newly emerging genre of tragicomic romance. While all Shakespearean drama mixes serious and comedic elements, Cymbeline features the boldest juxtaposition of lighthearted comedy with an unsettling violence which would not be out of place in the somberest of tragedies. Like the other late Romances, Cymbeline highlights issues including the war between the sexes, the tyranny of parents over children and the contrast between an often corrupt civilization and the equally perilous natural world. Another point of contact with other Romances is the concern with resurrection, forgiveness and redemption. This religious dimension gains significance when it is recalled that Cymbeline was the name of the ancient British King who ruled at the time of Christ's birth. Shakespeare mixes ancient British history with liberal helping of Italian Renaissance literature to create his most intricate plot structure.
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