CYMBELINE
At the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Through Feb. 24. Call TeleCharge, (212) 239-6200.
THE four late romantic dramas of Shakespeare are riddled with wild, improbable twists of time, space and character, but the more famous three – “The Tempest,” “A Winter’s Tale” and “Pericles” – are as sober as a police blotter next to “Cymbeline,” written in 1609.
A crazy kaleidoscope, set in a pagan Britain being invaded by the Roman Empire, “Cymbeline” involves a scheming royal family, a fiendish plot against the chastity of the king’s daughter, exiled royal princes in a forest – you name it, it’s there.
Now, if you’re a director staging “Cymbeline,” you can find one consistent style for all this, or you can, like Bartlett Sher, staple together comic elements from whatever is found lying about.
Thus, while Cymbeline, king of England, wears a traditional red robe, his stepson, the doltish, horny Cloten, is got up like something out of “Yojimbo,” sporting long, knotted hair as he capers about with a paper horse attached to his loins.
Indeed, the parasol-toting court in general seems faux-Japanese.
However, the king’s daughter, Imogen, is Westernized, with a long, bejeweled fall of hair, and her husband, Posthumus, is garbed like a Mandarin.
Meanwhile, the king’s two lost sons are in the forest, dressed as cowboys and singing Western songs into microphones.
Some of all this is funny, but much is desperate – the postmodern mix in general sacrifices too much. The play’s politics, its curious balance of family affection and misogyny, is missing. Also gone are most of Shakespeare’s fresh characterizations.
“Cymbeline” does not need such rickety, grab-bag measures as Sher resorts to here. It’s a good play when you trust it.