Shaw resented the universal adulation of Shakespeare, and set his Caesar and Cleopatra against Antony and Cleopatra, claiming that his characters were ‘real’ whereas Shakespeare's were ‘love-obsessed’. Victorious over Ptolemy's troops, Caesar leaves for Rome, appointing a Roman general as governor and consoling Cleopatra with the promise of sending Mark Antony to her.Ī: George Bernard Shaw W: 1898 Pf: 1906, Berlin, then New York Pb: 1901 G: Drama in 5 acts and a prologue S: Egypt, 48 bc C: 26m, 4f, extras This causes a new revolt to erupt, which Caesar once more suppresses.
To Caesar's horror, Cleopatra secretly orders Pothinus' execution. Later, with order re-established, Pothinus warns Caesar that Cleopatra is not to be trusted as queen. Cleopatra is smuggled to him in a carpet. In order to quell a revolt, Caesar occupies the lighthouse. In Alexandria her young brother, the boy-king Ptolemy, is dependent on his Roman guardian Pothinus, who organizes resistance to Cleopatra's claim to the throne.
Timidly encountering a strange ‘old gentleman’, Cleopatra is encouraged by him to assert her authority as rightful queen and then discovers that he is in fact Caesar.
In an Alternative Prologue we learn that Caesar is victorious in Egypt. A: George Bernard Shaw W: 1898 Pf: 1906, Berlin, then New York Pb: 1901 G: Drama in 5 acts and a prologue S: Egypt, 48 bc C: 26m, 4f, extrasIn a Prologue Ra cynically comments on Caesar and Cleopatra, asserting that human nature has not changed.
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