Cymbeline Tickets

About the Show:

Cymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare. Based on legends surrounding the early Celtic King of Britain Cunobelinus, the plot is loosely derived from a story by Geoffrey of Monmouth. But Shakespeare added several narrative aspects, including the subplot of Iachimo's wager, which is based on a story from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. Though Shakespeare listed Cymbeline as a tragedy, it is often classified by contemporary critics as a romance as it is largely concerned with the themes of romantic jealousy, mistaken identity, and mistaken guilt and innocence. The combination of concurrent storylines and different dramatic techniques make Cymbeline a diverse play. Throughout, there are scenes of heartwarming romance, the devilishly thrilling plots of an evil queen, and depictions of utter despair. With something for everyone, this show is not to be missed. Order your Cymbeline tickets today to see this classic and varied drama.

Plot Synopsis:

Imogen, the daughter of Cymbeline, King of Britain, has fallen in love with and secretly married Posthumus Leonatus, an orphan raised by the court. To commemorate their union, Imogen wears a bracelet and Posthumus wears a ring. When Cymbeline discovers their illicit marriage, he banishes Posthumus for presuming he could become heir to the throne. Later, the King awaits the arrival of the Roman ambassador Caius Lucius, who is coming to demand the tribute that he has stopped paying at the request of the Queen. In addition to demanding Cymbeline defy Roman authority, she is deviously plotting to betroth her son, Cloten, to Imogen and then kill the King and Imogen to secure her family's right to the throne. She acquires what she thinks to be deadly poison from the court doctor, but he suspects her evil intentions and instead gives her a potion that will make the drinker appear to be dead for a short while before waking, unharmed.

Now in Italy, Posthumus meets the tricky Iachimo and the two make a wager about Imogen's chastity and fidelity. When he fails to seduce Imogen, Iachimo waits until she falls asleep and steals the bracelet Posthumus gave her as proof of their affair. Posthumus is enraged by her betrayal and orders his servant, Pisanio, to kill her; but Pisanio believes that Imogen is innocent, so he convinces her to disguise herself as a boy and find her husband to tell him the truth in person while he falsely reports her as dead to Posthumus. When Imogen becomes lost in the Welsh mountains, she stumbles on the cave of the unjustly exiled nobleman Belarius lives with his two "sons" (the boys are actually Cymbeline's sons who Belarius kidnapped as revenge for his banishment). Cloten arrives dressed in Posthumus' clothes and is slain in a duel; when the men discover Imogen has taken the faux-poison, they believe her dead and set her next to Cloten. When they leave and she awakens, she mistakes Cloten for Posthumus and despairs, sorrowfully enlisting in the invading Roman army as a page.

Posthumus and Iachimo arrive with the Roman army, but Posthumus quickly switches sides and fights bravely for Britain, seeking to die in battle in despair of his lost love. The Romans are defeated, and he once again changes garb to be taken prisoner by the British. In the night, he is visited by the spirits of his ancestors and the god Jupiter, who promises to take care of him. The next day, the prisoners are called before Cymbeline and the disguises are dropped. Posthumus and Imogen reunite and forgive Iachimo; Cymbeline reunites with his long-lost sons (now that he has male heirs, Imogen is free to be with her love); Belarius is exonerated; and the Queen dies, leaving Cymbeline free of her wicked influence. In a gesture of good will, Cymbeline frees the Roman prisoners and agrees to resume paying tribute.

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