Queen of Egypt and Queen of the Bey-Hive: Sophie Okonedo's Cleopatra at the National Theatre (2018)

Abstract:Combining the methods of traditional theater history with semiotics and digital cultural studies, this article focuses particularly on Simon Godwin's production of Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre (2018) and on the avowed inspiration of the Nigerian-Jewish-descended British actress Sophie Okonedo by the world-famous vocalist, digital producer, and media celebrity Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (usually known simply as Beyoncé). Godwin's production carefully used a multiethnic cast and placed particular emphasis upon the relationship between Cleopatra and other women, both allies and enemies, in part by strategically reassigning Dolabella's lines to Octavia and thus creating an encounter between Cleopatra and Octavia that never happens in the Folio text. The article speculates that using allusions to Beyoncé out of context (away from the rich intertext of the film Lemonade [2016], for example, and away from transnational Black feminist debate) and to a majority-white British audience membership risked diluting Beyoncé's nuanced and politicized commentary—and, perhaps, diminished the nuanced treatment of labor and gender in Shakespeare's play. The investigation concludes, however, with a reflection upon the pros and cons—for artists and for audiences—of foregrounding digital subcultures in this way on stage and in academia.