Review: ‘Cymbeline’ at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum

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Banishments, double identities and tell-tale moles: Like a showrunner with a hit series in its later seasons, Shakespeare threw every old saw into “Cymbeline,” one of his last plays. Theatricum Botanicum’s dynamic new production, running Sundays from now through September, embraces that surfeit of plot with a wide-eyed enthusiasm that’s genuinely contagious.

The action unfolds in the age of Roman Britain, where Caesar’s invasion is a recent memory. King Cymbeline (Thad Geer) banishes Posthumus (Mike Peebler), the upstanding commoner who has secretly married Princess Imogen (Willow Geer). Exiled in Italy, Posthumus gets suckered into a bet with smooth Iachimo (Aaron Hendry, alternating with Steve Matt), who wagers his estate that he can bed the virtuous Imogen. Meanwhile, Cymbeline’s stepson, Cloten (Jeff Wiesen) has his own designs on the Princess.

“Cymbeline” can feel like a mash-up of Shakespeare’s earlier, more psychologically acute plays: “Othello’s’ insidious villain who poisons a happy marriage; the deadly potion from “Romeo and Juilet’ and “Richard III”’s massively inappropriate wooing scene. But what gives “Cymbeline” its resilient appeal is an unabashed delight in the mechanics of story, and the play suits the Theatricum Botanicum house style, which often privileges energy over subtlety. Here, exuberance is the order of the day, and the cast throws itself into the action with ardor.

Dressed in costumer Val Miller’s cloaks and tunics, color-coordinated to help distinguish the various factions, the players take us from sensuous Italy, where Eurotrash lie around in strategically draped robes, to rough and tumble Britain for a sprawling battle sequence choreographed by Stuart Rogers. The show, making abundant use of the theater’s outdoor setting, makes Shakespeare look like just about the most fun thing ever. What else to do on a Sunday afternoon but dash around with swords and secret messages?

And there are a number of deft performances: Hendry, with his tousled hair and playboy mojo, is delicious as the epicurean Iachimo who develops a taste for virtue. As royals raised in the wilds, Matt Ducati and Samara Frame share a striking vocal and physical language, shooting a day’s meal with arrows and hooting their way through the forest. Wiesen’s Cloten amuses as a vain dolt, Earnestine Phillips has real power as an exiled noble, and Thad Geer parses the revelations in the final scene with regal aplomb.

Cutting Posthumus’ dream in Act V, director Ellen Geer keeps the pace brisk, only slowing for two lovely songs she herself composed. They include a funeral dirge that contains the play’s most famous passage: “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun/Or the furious winter’s rages… Golden lads and girls all must/As chimney sweepers, come to dust.” True, boys and girls will grow old. But in the meantime, they can swing through the Topanga trees with abandon.

--Charlotte Stoudt

“Cymbeline,” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. 3:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends Sept. 27. $10-$30. (310) 455-3723. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Caption: Willow Geer, left, and Mike Peebler in ‘Cymbeline.’ Credit: Ian Flanders