★★★★☆
People settle in their seats, chat to friends, get out their mobile phones to turn them off. Catching us off guard, the curtains part to reveal a familiar scene. Rows of red seats, a woman in a posh frock fiddling with her phone. The timing is amusing and the message is clear. This stage is a mirror. We are not as far from ancient Rome or Handel’s era as we think.
Of course, that’s a far from original idea, but spelling it out has its uses in Walter Sutcliffe’s cracking new production. Granted, interesting art always seems to speak through the ages. Yet with its gripping mix of sex, power, schemes, politics, lies, lust and love, Agrippina could have been written for the box-set