CINEMA ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY Captured live from Stratford-upon-Avon, England and screened at Riverside. ANTONY & CLEOPATRA 8 & 16 July Following Caesar’s assassination, Mark Antony has reached the heights of power. Now he has neglected his empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Torn between love and duty, Antony’s military brilliance deserts him, and his passion leads the lovers to their tragic end. Iqbal Khan returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company to direct, following his critically acclaimed productions of Othello (2015) and Much Ado About Nothing (2012). JULIUS CAESAR 10 – 18 June Caesar returns from war, all- conquering, but mutiny is rumbling through the corridors of power. Our Rome season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opens with the politics of spin and betrayal turning to violence. Following his sell-out productions of Tom Morton-Smith’s Oppenheimer (2014) and James Fenton’s adaptation of Don Quixote (2016), Season Director Angus Jackson steers the thrilling action as the race to claim the empire spirals out of control. STAGE RUSSIA Captured live from the Moscow Art Theatre and The Vakhtangov Theatre in Russia and screened at Riverside. Presented in Russian with English subtitles. THE CHERRY ORCHARD 1 & 2 July First produced in 1904 at The Moscow Art Theatre under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavsky, this “arrestingly beautiful” production of Anton Chekhov’s classic tale of cultural futility, starring Russian stage and screen legend Renata Litvinova, is more relevant today than it was over a hundred years ago. Adolf Shapiro’s interpretation asks the question, where would the characters of this play live today years after their cherry orchard has been cut down? The answer, which lies in the material world created by set designer, David Borovsky, is, of course, on the stage. ANNA KARENINA 12 & 13 August Directed and choreographed by Angelica Cholina, this Vakhtangov Theatre production of Anna Karenina is a modern dance interpretation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel, originally published in serial installments from 1875 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. Telling the life story of the titular Anna, a St. Petersburg aristocrat, against the backdrop of late 19th Century Russian society, Tolstoy’s novel is widely considered a pinnacle in realist fiction. We would love to see you here at Riverside with your popcorn and choc top in hand for this exceptional program. New screenings are added frequently, so keep checking riversideparramatta.com.au/cinema for updates. And make sure you update your preference on our e-newsletter to include our cinema program! ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: JULIIUS CAESAR STAGE RUSSIA: ANNA KARENINA PHOTO BY DMITRY DUBINSKY 25