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The Arts Intel Report

Cymbeline

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT, United Kingdom

Who knew there were still Shakespeare plays to be rediscovered? Cymbeline, one of the Bard’s final works, is returning to the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the first time in a decade. When Innogen, daughter of Cymbeline, the king of ancient Britain, gets married against her father’s wishes, her husband is banished to Rome. There, he foolishly wagers on Innogen’s fidelity in a bet with his friend Iachimo, setting off a whirlwind of battles and deceptions. Matt Wolf of The New York Times has called the play “an irresistible slice of Shakespeare esoterica, its sense of amazement very much shared by the audience by the time its revelation-packed ending puts the knotted yarn to rights.” Making her Globe directorial debut, Jennifer Tang changes Cymbeline to a queen, casting Martina Laird in the role. —Jeanne Malle