After the 1611 performance mentioned by Simon Forman, there is no record of production until 1634, when the play was revived at court for
Charles I and
Henrietta Maria. The
Caroline production was noted as being "well likte by the kinge". In 1728
John Rich staged the play with his company at
Lincoln's Inn Fields, with emphasis placed on the spectacle of the production rather than the text of the play.
Theophilus Cibber revived Shakespeare's text in 1744 with a performance at the
Haymarket. There is evidence that Cibber put on another performance in 1746, and another in 1758. In 1761,
David Garrick edited a new version of the text. It is recognized as being close to the original Shakespeare, although there are several differences. Changes included the shortening of Imogen's burial scene and the entire fifth act, including the removal of Posthumus's dream. Garrick's text was first performed in November of that year, starring Garrick himself as Posthumus. Several scholars have indicated that Garrick's Posthumus was much liked. Valerie Wayne notes that Garrick's changes made the play more nationalistic, representing a trend in perception of
Cymbeline during that period. Garrick's version of
Cymbeline would prove popular; it was staged a number of times over the next few decades. In the late eighteenth century, Cymbeline was performed in
Jamaica. as Imogen.The play entered the Romantic era with
John Philip Kemble's company in 1801. Kemble's productions made use of lavish spectacle and scenery; one critic noted that during the bedroom scene, the bed was so large that Iachimo all but needed a ladder to view Imogen in her sleep. Kemble added a dance to Cloten's comic wooing of Imogen. In 1827, his brother
Charles mounted an antiquarian production at
Covent Garden; it featured costumes designed after the descriptions of the ancient British by such writers as
Julius Caesar and
Diodorus Siculus.
William Charles Macready mounted the play several times between 1837 and 1842. At the Theatre Royal,
Marylebone, an
epicene production was staged with Mary Warner,
Fanny Vining,
Anna Cora Mowatt, and
Edward Loomis Davenport. In 1859,
Cymbeline was first performed in
Sri Lanka. In the late nineteenth century, the play was produced several times in
India. In 1864, as part of the celebrations of Shakespeare's birth,
Samuel Phelps performed the title role at
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Helena Faucit returned to the stage for this performance. The play was also one of
Ellen Terry's last performances with
Henry Irving at the
Lyceum in 1896. Terry's performance was widely praised, though Irving was judged an indifferent Iachimo. Like Garrick, Irving removed the dream of Posthumus; he also curtailed Iachimo's remorse and attempted to render Cloten's character consistent. A review in the
Athenaeum compared this trimmed version to
pastoral comedies such as
As You Like It. The set design, overseen by
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, was lavish and advertised as historically accurate, though the reviewer for the time complained of such anachronisms as gold crowns and printed books as props. Similarly lavish but less successful was
Margaret Mather's production in New York in 1897. The sets and publicity cost $40,000, but Mather was judged too emotional and undisciplined to succeed in a fairly cerebral role.
20th century Barry Jackson staged a
modern dress production for the
Birmingham Rep in 1923, two years before his influential modern dress
Hamlet.
Walter Nugent Monck brought his
Maddermarket Theatre production to Stratford in 1946, inaugurating the post-war tradition of the play. London saw two productions in the 1956 season.
Michael Benthall directed the less successful production at
The Old Vic. The set design by
Audrey Cruddas was notably minimal, with only a few essential props. She relied instead on a variety of lighting effects to reinforce mood; actors seemed to come out of darkness and return to darkness.
Barbara Jefford was criticised as too cold and formal for Imogen; Leon Gluckman played Posthumus,
Derek Godfrey Iachimo, and
Derek Francis Cymbeline. Following Victorian practice, Benthall drastically shortened the last act. By contrast,
Peter Hall's production at the
Shakespeare Memorial presented nearly the entire play, including the long-neglected dream scene (although a golden eagle designed for Jupiter turned out too heavy for the stage machinery and was not used). Hall presented the play as a distant fairy tale, with stylised performances. The production received favourable reviews, both for Hall's conception and, especially, for
Peggy Ashcroft's Imogen.
Richard Johnson played Posthumus, and Robert Harris Cymbeline. Iachimo was played by
Geoffrey Keen, whose father
Malcolm had played Iachimo with Ashcroft at the Old Vic in 1932. Hall's approach attempted to unify the play's diversity by means of a fairy-tale
topos. The next major
Royal Shakespeare Company production, in 1962, went in the opposite direction. Working on a set draped with heavy white sheets, director
William Gaskill employed
Brechtian alienation effects, to mixed critical reviews. The acting, however, was widely praised.
Vanessa Redgrave as Imogen was often compared favourably to Ashcroft;
Eric Porter was a success as Iachimo, as was
Clive Swift as Cloten.
Patrick Allen was Posthumus, and
Tom Fleming played the title role. A decade later,
John Barton's 1974 production for the RSC (with assistance from
Clifford Williams) featured
Sebastian Shaw in the title role,
Tim Pigott-Smith as Posthumus,
Ian Richardson as Iachimo, and
Susan Fleetwood as Imogen.
Charles Keating was Cloten. As with contemporary productions of
Pericles, this one used a narrator (Cornelius) to signal changes in mood and treatment to the audience.
Robert Speaight disliked the set design, which he called too minimal, but he approved the acting. In 1980, David Jones revived the play for the RSC; the production was in general a disappointment, although
Judi Dench as Imogen received reviews that rivalled Ashcroft's.
Ben Kingsley played Iachimo;
Roger Rees was Posthumus. In 1987, Bill Alexander directed the play in The Other Place (later transferring to the Pit in London's Barbican Centre) with Harriet Walter playing Imogen, David Bradley as Cymbeline and Nicholas Farrell as Posthumus. At the
Stratford Festival, the play was directed in 1970 by
Jean Gascon and in 1987 by
Robin Phillips. The latter production, which was marked by much-approved scenic complexity, featured
Colm Feore as Iachimo, and
Martha Burns as Imogen. The play was again at Stratford in 2004, directed by David Latham. A large medieval tapestry unified the fairly simple stage design and underscored Latham's fairy-tale inspired direction. In 1994,
Ajay Chowdhury directed an
Anglo-Indian production of
Cymbeline at the Rented Space Theatre Company. Set in India under British rule, the play features Iachimo, played by Rohan Kenworthy, as a British soldier and Imogen, played by Uzma Hameed, as an Indian princess.
21st century At the new
Globe Theatre in 2001, a cast of six (including
Abigail Thaw,
Mark Rylance, and
Richard Hope) used extensive doubling for the play. The cast wore identical costumes even when in disguise, allowing for particular comic effects related to doubling (as when Cloten attempts to disguise himself as Posthumus.) There have been some well-received theatrical productions including the
Public Theater's 1998 production in New York City, directed by
Andrei Șerban.
Cymbeline was also performed at the
Cambridge Arts Theatre in October 2007 in a production directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, and in November 2007 at the
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. The play was included in the 2013 repertory season of the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 2004 and 2014, the
Hudson Shakespeare Company of New Jersey produced two distinct versions of the play. The 2004 production, directed by Jon Ciccarelli, embraced the fairy tale aspect of the story and produced a colourful version with wicked step-mothers, feisty princesses and a campy Iachimo. The 2014 version, directed by Rachel Alt, went in a completely opposite direction and placed the action on ranch in the American
Old West. The Queen was a southern belle married to a rancher, with Imogen as a high society girl in love with the cowhand Posthumous. In a 2007
Cheek by Jowl production,
Tom Hiddleston doubled as Posthumus and Cloten. In 2011, the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC, presented a version of the play that emphasised its fable and folklore elements, set as a tale within a tale, as told to a child. In 2012,
Antoni Cimolino directed a production at the
Stratford Festival that steered into the fairy-tale elements of the text. Also in 2012, the
South Sudan Theatre Company staged
Cymbeline in
Juba Arabic for the
Shakespeare's Globe "Globe to Globe" festival. It was translated by Derik Uya Alfred and directed by Joseph Abuk. Connections between the content of the play and South Sudan's own political struggle have been drawn by the production's producers, as well as some scholars. Overall, the production was well received by audiences and critics. Critic Matt Truman gave the production four out of five stars, saying "The world's youngest nation seems delighted to be here and, played with this much heart, even Shakespeare's most rambling romance becomes irresistible." In 2013,
Samir Bhamra directed the play for Phizzical Productions with six actors playing multiple parts for a UK national tour. The cast included
Sophie Khan Levy as Innojaan, Adam Youssefbeygi, Tony Hasnath, Liz Jadav and Robby Khela. The production was set in the souks of Dubai and the Bollywood film industry during the 1990s communal riots and received acclaim from reviewers and academics alike. Also in 2013, a
folk musical adaptation of
Cymbeline was performed at the
First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook, Illinois. The setting was the
American South during the
Civil War, with Cymbeline as a man of high status who avoids military service. The play was performed outdoors and was accompanied by traditional
Appalachian folk songs. In 2015, at
Shakespeare's Globe in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a production was directed by
Sam Yates where the role of Innogen was played by
Emily Barber and
Jonjo O'Neill as Posthumus. In 2016,
Melly Still directed
Cymbeline at the
Royal Shakespeare Company. This version of the play was performed at the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre before moving to the
Barbican in late 2016. The performance featured Bethan Cullinane as Innogen and
Gillian Bevan as Cymbeline. In 2023,
Gregory Doran directed
Cymbeline at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was his final production as artistic director, and received largely positive reviews. The cast included
Peter De Jersey as Cymbeline and
Amber James as Imogen. Also in 2023,
San Francisco's Free Shakespeare in the Park performed
Cymbeline, directed by Maryssa Wanlass, with a
David Bowie/
fantasy-themed focus on the play's queer interpretations. In 2024, at the
Stratford Festival,
Cymbeline, directed by Esther Jun, reversed the gender of several roles, with Cymbeline portrayed as Queen of Britain by Lucy Peacock and her husband as a Duke, played by Rick Roberts. Innogen was played by Allison Edwards-Crewe. == Adaptations ==