#cloten

TOM HIDDLESTON - POSTHUMUS AND CLOTEN / CYMBELINE (2007)

Tom Hiddleston as Posthumus and Cloten in "Cymbeline" in 2007.

SHE DONE

IM DONE

Cymbeline

'Posthumus/Cloten'

Cheek By Jowl, February - July, 2007

Cymbeline Act II, scene iii

But Trump is not, and never was, Richard III, or indeed any of Shakespeare’s other great villains, such as Iago or Macbeth. He is not as smart, well spoken, or competent as they are; he has limited self-awareness, and would be incapable of the poignant soliloquies that leave us with a sneaking sympathy for Richard III, in particular.

Richard III was clever, cunning, and full of charm.

Macbeth was a brave military leader, a decent person who was destroyed by his conscience and his guilt once he started doing cruel things.

King Lear's whole character arc involved waking up to the suffering of those around him. When he empathises with the poor people out in the storm, it is the turning point for a previously selfish person. He develops some self-awareness, too, of the person he has been.

Our flailing soon-to-be ex-President is none of that. They are all better than he is.

‘As Cloten, who idiotically attempts to woo Imogen, [Tom Hiddleston] was pure clown. There’s a scene where he stands beneath Imogen’s window and sings “Hark, hark, the lark”, which we turned into a boyband number, with Tom singing and dancing. I forget whose idea it was, but it was brilliantly cringeworthy. He really went for it.’