RSS FeedA Night At Twelfth Night
As is my typical modus operandi, I didn’t do any advance reading before settling into my seat at the Shakespeare Theatre for the play Twelfth Night currently on at Sidney Harman Hall at 610 F Street, NW. What I witnessed was a delightful and entertaining production.
The major twists and turns set in motion by the key characters of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night include Orsino (Duke of Illyria) trying to remotely win the love of Countess Olivia using a woman disguised as a man as his proxy (Viola (woman)/Cesario (man)), Feste (Olivia’s jester) acting as a shuttle diplomat and members of Olivia’s household playing a huge practical joke on Malvolio (Olivia’s head of household) for much of the presented timeline. It is against this backdrop that Shakespeare wields his comic and sometimes bawdy pen. Productions distinguish themselves by the edge given to the characters and the set by the director and Twelfth Night has that edge.
Orsino and Violo/Cesario present themselves with intent, Olivia comes off as a bit of a nutter as she falls in love, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are hilarious in their mischievous revelry and Feste does a laugh inducing job of jesting both the characters and the crowd. But for his more jovial nature, Sir Andrew could almost be a stand in for Jim Carrey’s character Count Olaf from the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events. The set is a simple, modern interpretation consisting of a large curved plane inset with a pair of double doors, graphic panels that appear as needed and a few props/pieces of furniture. The recurrent theme of attainable love is emphasized by the presentation of roses and red in a variety of ways throughout the production.
My litmus test, not yawning, checking my watch or wondering when it will end, passed with flying colors, although it took a few of the opening minutes for the production’s tone to get set. I don’t want to rerun the whole story in this post thus spoiling the ending. Besides, it’s no secret that you can find the full text of the play on the Internet. My conclusion? Shakespeare’s ability to wring the most possible out of the English language was nicely, entertainingly sharpened and presented by this production and it gets my kudos.
STC Director Rebecca Bayla Taichman discusses Twelfth Night [podcast]
STC Director Rebecca Bayla Taichman discusses Twelfth Night
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