Eve Best returns to Shakespeare’s Globe to take on the iconic female lead in Antony & Cleopatra.

Best made her directorial debut at the Globe in 2013 after appearing as Beatrice in the Bankside venue’s 2011 production of Much Ado About Nothing. Her other stage credits include The Duchess Of Malfi at the Old Vic and Hedda Gabler at the Almeida. On screen she has appeared in films including The King’s Speech.

The actress is joined in the cast by Phil Daniels, whose recent stage credits include The Knight Of The Burning Pestle at the Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and This House at the National Theatre.

Shakespeare’s tragedy charts the story of the Queen of Egypt, who bewitches one of the three rulers of the Roman Empire, Mark Antony. When Antony quarrels with his fellow leaders and throws in his lot with Cleopatra, his infatuation threatens to split the empire in two.

The Bard’s exploration of the conflicting claims of sex and power is directed by Creative Associate for English Touring Theatre Jonathan Munby.