Just about the only character who comes off well in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Coriolanus is the title character's mother, Volumnia. And in the production at the Kennedy Center - part of the Shakespeare in Washington festival - she comes off better than well. She's a titan.
Negotiating for peace on the Washington stage, Janet Suzman's staunch, determined Volumnia is the type of shrewd, relentless diplomat who could broker treaties on any level - from the family dinner table to the Middle East.
CORIOLANUS / / Through May 6 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington -- $25-$78. -- 800-444-1324 or kennedy-center.org