Ben Cunis and Irina Tsikurishvili in Synetic Theater's "Antony & Cleopatra." Photo credit: Graeme B. Shaw.

If you want to know why Synetic Theater has been nominated for 13 Helen Hayes awards for its productions last year, go see Antony & Cleopatra. Now. Everything this robust and vibrant company is beloved for is here on stage at the Lansburgh’s beautiful proscenium, as part of an alliance with Shakespeare Theatre that I hope means more Synetic productions at the Penn Quarter space. Their glorious athleticism, sensual energy and biting humor are all here, framed by what founding artistic director Paata Tsikurishvili calls their “art of silence.”

The characters of Antony and Cleopatra are full of lust – for life, for power, for each other. It’s a play highlighting the contradictory battle between masculine and feminine desires inherent in both sexes, and at its heart is the human ambition to seize the moment even at the risk of total loss.

Stakes are pretty high here, as director Paata Tsikurishvili makes clear by adding a prologue to the actual Shakespearean plot – the meeting of Caesar and Cleopatra, their ambition no less than to rule the entire known world together, uniting East and West. As they stand together, a map of the world splits up and swirls about them in an orgy of power. This is the ultimate gamble, player beware.
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