All The World’s A Stage: Walk Like An Egyptian
Kate Barker looks on as our familiar Warrior Princess steps into the role of the legendary Cleopatra to shoot the late fifth season Xena episode Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Michael (Iolaus) Hurst.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 09
It's the second day of filming this particular episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. The crew has been at the studio since 7am, and they, along with various actors, will remain shooting in this interior set for the rest of the day.
This doesn't seem like a bad thing at all, as the set is breathtaking. With flaming torches, peacock feathers and a beautifully draped four-poster bed, this is a bedchamber fit for a queen. Of course, it should be; it belongs to the Queen of Egypt, who Xena must impersonate in Antony and Cleopatra.
Someone is doing a deal with royal assassins, and Xena has to pick the villain out of either Octavius (Mark Warren), Brutus (David Franklin) or Marc Antony (Jon Bennett). Her job is made slightly more difficult by the fact that Marc Antony is not exactly an unattractive man...
There is beauty, love and war in this episode, and a lot of it takes place right here on this set. Just now, though, it’s a slow process, as everything in the royal bedchamber has to be positioned exactly right. It takes the crew over an hour to check the lighting, position the cameras to the correct angles and redress the set... and it takes almost as long to get Lucy Lawless into costume and make-up for her role as Xena - pretending to be Cleopatra. At one point there are more than 15 members of the crew on set, making crucial adjustments in preparation for filming.
Overseeing it all, a familiar figure sits calmly in the director’s chair. Although he is no stranger to helming a Xena or Hercules episode, audiences are more used to seeing him in front of the camera. This time, however. there is very little hint of Hercules' sidekick lolaus. Sporting short hair, glasses and an earring, Michael Hurst is brimming with enthusiasm about his big-picture view of Antony and Cleopatra. “I’m going to do it like the 1940s,” says Hurst of his vision for the episode, “when all the women are in soft focus.”
When everything has been put into place, the crew is ready to film a wide shot of Xena/Cleopatra alone in the bedchamber. Just before shooting, Hurst gives Xena’s body double Cindy a few last-minute instructions. “After ‘action’, you take a couple of steps forward,” he explains. “It's a delicate, gorgeous, sensual move...” He turns to the crew, “...that applies to the camera as well.”
After a short pause, Hurst quietens the room in preparation for the shot. “All right... we're going to shoot this amazing piece of art.”
Hurst’s description is certainly not an exaggeration. The bedchamber set is beautiful, decorated with Egyptian friezes and simply yet very effectively designed.
The shot is completed and Hurst is satisfied. “Beautiful,” he says approvingly. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Now that this particular shot is out of the way, the crew swarms onto the set once again to adjust everything for the next scene to be filmed. This is required after almost every shot that is filmed, and there may be several shots of various lengths that make up any one scene. For every shot, any number of things may need to be adjusted, from paintings on walls to focusing the camera lens, to the angles of the lights, to the actors and their costumes. On this set, for instance, when the light needs to be brought up dramatically for the next shot in the bedchamber, foil light reflectors near the ceiling must be tilted by way of overhanging ropes to reflect the lights from behind the set onto the action at hand. The bedchamber set seems fairly simple in design and construction, yet with the right effects from lighting and camera, it is formed into majestic beauty.
In this scene, Gabrielle, Xena and Cleopatra’s handmaiden, Shiana (Miriama Smith), discuss what needs to be done with the three suspects in order to maintain the safety of Egypt. All three actors are dressed in diaphanous white toga-like gowns, and all three wear the classically Egyptian black wigs. For Lucy Lawless, it is a far cry from the familiar copper and leather normally identified with Xena, while Renee O’Connor seems enamoured with the Egyptian wigs and wants to see them provided for the entire crew!
After Hurst takes the actors through the blocking of the shot, Lawless must return for yet more make-up. Already, her wig has been beaded, braided and transformed into a regal shape, and her bronze-like tan made more Egyptian; so much so that even sitting down is likely to cause that flattering toga to gather make-up in places that it shouldn’t be seen. But there is still more work to do, and while the finishing touches are made to both the set and Lawless, Hurst entertains some of the crew with selections from an often-comical book entitled The Word-Lovers Dictionary. Obviously, a little light reading never goes astray.
During a break in proceedings, Hurst takes time out to discuss the set that stands just a pillar or two away from Cleopatra’s bedchamber. “This is the sunken bath set,” he says, indicating the darkened stage, “where Xena as Cleopatra is bathing in asses’ milk.” Although the filming of the bathing scene was essentially a closed set, Hurst is able to reveal one titbit: “...it's going to be very sexy.”
Of course, with great beauty comes great drama, and Hurst emphasises that Antony and Cleopatra is no exception. “There’s a big, brutal ship battle at the end,” he says. “I’ve been told I can push the envelope... so I’m going to push it!”