"Antony and Cleopatra," currently running at London's National Theatre, has tragic romance, two top-flight actors and a live snake. No wonder it's a hit.
Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes play the lovers sundered by war and empire in William Shakespeare's tragedy, which is being broadcast live to movie theaters in Britain and internationally on Thursday as part of the NT Live series.
Okonedo and Fiennes won acting trophies at last month's Evening Standard Theatre Awards for the roles, immortalized onscreen by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and memorably played onstage in the 1980s by Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench.
In this undated photo released by The National Theatre, a scene from the London National Theatre production of Antony & Cleopatra starring Ralph Finnes as he is carried by other actors. The tale of a tragic romance by William Shakespeare, directed by Simon Godwin, has two top-flight actors, Ralph Finnes and Sophie Okonedo starring as the lovers rocked by war and empire, and a live snake, no wonder it's a hit show. (Johan PerssonNational Theatre via AP)
Fiennes says one reason the play endures is that the characters of the Roman military hero and the Egyptian queen are — strange as it seems — so relatable.
"We can relate to the messiness of the relationship," Fiennes told The Associated Press. "They're not young lovers. They're mature. They've both got baggage."
Fiennes is an old hand at Shakespeare who won a Tony Award for playing "Hamlet" and directed a film version of "Coriolanus." He says the play's power comes from the combination of Shakespeare's "poetic, epic" language and "two very fallible people."
In this undated photo released by The National Theatre, a scene from the London National Theatre production of Antony & Cleopatra starring Ralph Finnes. The tale of a tragic romance by William Shakespeare, directed by Simon Godwin, has two top-flight actors Ralph Finnes and Sophie Okonedo starring as the lovers rocked by war and empire and a live snake, no wonder it's a hit show. (Johan PerssonNational Theatre via AP)
"He's not an idealized warrior and she's not an idealized princess," the actor said. "They're full of temperament and tantrums and mood swings, and I think that combination is very moving to people."
The production reunites Fiennes with director Simon Godwin, who directed him in George Bernard Shaw's "Man and Superman" at the National Theatre in 2015.
It's his first time working with "Hotel Rwanda" star Okonedo, and he praises her "rawness" and emotional range as the besotted queen.
Cleopatra is the play's glamour part, Antony a more muted starring role. Reviewers have called Okonedo fiery, funny, regal and playful, while Fiennes has been praised for playing Antony as a "creaky" figure in "tragic decline."
His Antony is a hedonistic hero — repeatedly drawn back from duty in Rome to Cleopatra's lush Alexandrian retreat — who is reluctant to admit that his best days are behind him.
"He's a man who's trying not to be past his peak," Fiennes said. "You feel he's someone who is letting himself go in Egypt. Enjoying himself, but he's let his responsibilities go."
The play's climax — Cleopatra's suicide by asp — is staged with a real snake. Fiennes says cast and crew ensure that the reptiles — there are four who alternate in the role — are "very well looked after."
At 55, Fiennes is experiencing one of the richest phases of his career. For years he was a go-to bad guy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for playing a Nazi concentration camp commander in "Schindler's List" and terrorizing young wizards as Lord Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" film series. More recently he's explored a flair for comedy in films including "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Hail, Caesar."
Next year he'll return to the cloak-and-dagger world of James Bond for a third outing as spymaster M.
Fiennes is not about to let any 007 secrets slip. He says Bond filming — delayed by the departure of director Danny Boyle and his replacement by Cary Fukunaga — is supposed to start in spring. He insists he has yet to see a script.
He laughs when asked what genre he wants to explore next.
"You really hope that a script comes through the door which is something that you'd never dreamed of being asked to play," he said. "That was the case with 'The Grand Budapest Hotel.' I was delighted and surprised that I was being asked to play this character. So I'm just waiting to see what might come my way."
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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, as the Trump administration targets sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to take control of the South American country's oil.
The predawn raid was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean in recent months, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the tanker called the Olina. The Coast Guard then took control of the vessel, officials said.
Southern Command and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem both posted unclassified footage on social media Friday morning of a U.S. helicopter landing on the vessel and U.S. personnel conducting a search of the deck and tossing what appeared to be an explosive device in front of a door leading to inside the ship.
In her post, Noem said the ship was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and it had departed Venezuela “attempting to evade U.S. forces."
The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the third since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.
In a post on his social media network later in the day, Trump said the seizure was conducted “in coordination with the Interim Authorities of Venezuela” but offered no elaboration.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for more details.
Venezuela’s government acknowledged in a statement that it was working with U.S. authorities to return the tanker, “which set sail without payment or authorization from the Venezuelan authorities,” to the South American nation.
“Thanks to this first successful joint operation, the ship is sailing back to Venezuelan waters for its protection and relevant actions,” according to the statement.
Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships from conducting trade. The Olina was among that flotilla.
U.S. government records show that the Olina was sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M, and flagged in Panama.
While records show the Olina is now flying the flag of Timor-Leste, it is listed in the international shipping registry as having a false flag, meaning the registration it is claiming is not valid. In July, the owner and manager of the ship on its registration was changed to a company in Hong Kong.
According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its location in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast. Since then, however, the ship has been running dark with its location beacon turned off.
While Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law, other officials in the Trump administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela's battered oil industry and restore its economy.
In an early morning social media post, Trump said the U.S. and Venezuela “are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”
The administration said it expects to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds to go to both the U.S. and Venezuelan people. But the president expects the arrangement to continue indefinitely. He met Friday with executives from oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution.
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News this week that the U.S. can “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where its oil can be sold.
Madani estimated that the Olina is loaded with 707,000 barrels of oil, which at the current market price of about $60 a barrel would be worth more than $42 million.
Associated Press writers Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Josh Boak in Washington, and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the United States has seized three tankers, not five, since Nicolás Maduro was ousted as Venezuela’s president.
FILE - Evana, an oil tanker, is docked at El Palito Port in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, Dec. 21, 2025. The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
