LONDON (AP) — Antony and Cleopatra," currently running at London's National Theatre, has tragic romance, two top-flight actors and a live snake. No wonder it's a hit.

Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes play the lovers rocked by war and empire in William Shakespeare's historical tragedy, which is being broadcast live to movie theaters in Britain and internationally on Thursday as part of the NT Live series.

Okonedo and Fiennes won acting trophies at last month's Evening Standard Theatre Awards for the roles, previously played onscreen by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and onstage by Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench.

Fiennes says the characters of the Roman military hero and the Egyptian queen are — strange as it seems — very relatable.

He tells the AP "they're not young lovers. They're mature. They've both got baggage."