Antony and Cleopatra - Leaflet, 1989
Title
Antony and Cleopatra - Leaflet, 1989
Date
27 November 1989
Description
Leaflet for British Actors Theatre Company production of Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare.
What's the story?
The British Actors Theatre Company was formed in 1987 by actors Kate O’Mara and Peter Woodward.
The company’s 1989 production of Antony and Cleopatra starred O’Mara and Woodward, with Bernard Lloyd and Terry Taplin.
The controversial promotional material for the show presented a topless image of Kate O’Mara on top of Bernard Lloyd’s Antony.
According to O’Mara’s 2003 autobiography Vamp Until Ready – A Life Laid Bare, this image was innocently presenting the historically accurate presentation of fashionable Egyptian women, but the result was that many theatres stuck labels over the offending breast.
As O’Mara ultimately states in her autobiography … “Nowadays, I dare say no-one would bat an eyelid. Anyway, it paid off with Antony and Cleopatra, we were packed out for the entire tour”.
The company’s 1989 production of Antony and Cleopatra starred O’Mara and Woodward, with Bernard Lloyd and Terry Taplin.
The controversial promotional material for the show presented a topless image of Kate O’Mara on top of Bernard Lloyd’s Antony.
According to O’Mara’s 2003 autobiography Vamp Until Ready – A Life Laid Bare, this image was innocently presenting the historically accurate presentation of fashionable Egyptian women, but the result was that many theatres stuck labels over the offending breast.
As O’Mara ultimately states in her autobiography … “Nowadays, I dare say no-one would bat an eyelid. Anyway, it paid off with Antony and Cleopatra, we were packed out for the entire tour”.
Type
Leaflet
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Contributor
Researcher: David Longford
