Twelfth Night
Venue: The Drama Barn
Runs: 10-12 February 2012
Director: Catherine Gobert-Jones
Producer: Roseanna Brear
Rating: ****
‘Twelfth Night’ is one of Shakespeare’s most popular staged plays thanks to the enduring and accessible humour of its playful exploration and riotous exchanges of gender roles, and so the temptations of adaptation have lured few intrepid directors into serious danger. This production places the tale amidst ‘naval operations’, ‘war effort’ and the harsh realities of wartime casualties in England during WWI, yet this suggestion of placement was only bleated meekly through the array of costumes and uniforms of the snappily dressed characters. The absence of any militaristic behaviour on stage left an avenue unexplored which could have offered rich rewards for comedy, and a balancing counterpoint to the slapstick action which characterised the presence of the ‘fools’ onstage. However, the polished spectacle of tonight’s performance spoke of admirable hard work and considerable thought given to the content.
This production was commendably successful in bringing colour to the sexually ambiguous humour within the script, and the audience relished these unearthings as much as the cast. Equally interesting were the interpretations of some of Shakespeare’s more dated dramatic devices, which provide hurdles for almost all modern directors, but the ‘puppet-mouthed’ deliveries of the soliloquies spurred a cantering rumble of amusement from the audience on each occasion, and the ‘songs’ performed by Feste the clown, Laura Griffin, who bravely played one of the hardest roles, provided a pleasant melancholy. Expectedly, the play’s engine was fuelled by the minor characters and the sub-plots, and the actors with the even the smallest roles played their moments with an energy that is so vital in a modern performance of a Shakespeare play, and offered many moments of laughter outside of those predicted by the entangled plot: particularly amusing was the transformation of an officer to pastor offstage within the space of seconds. The camp gusto given to Sir Toby Belch, played by Toby King and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, by Richard Spears did justice to two of Shakespeare’s most-loved characters, and their presence filled and lifted a sometimes rigid stage, and I am sure they will continue to grow in stature over the next two nights.
The confidence and comfort that the major characters had onstage brought life and momentum to the play’s hilarious twists of plot, offering a seamless motion from one to the next. The performances given by Orino, Ross Cronshaw Olivia, Helen Petefield and the trapped Viola, Catherine Bennett in their triangle of love-interest tied the ribbon around this present of a performance, and each played with such perceivable enjoyment in their roles which I hope they will bring to future performances. And yet, how to finish without congratulating the captivating and unforgettable rendition of the play’s major sub-plot? Such was the presence and humour lent by Malvolio, (Peter Marshall) as a purring Scrooge, resisting the fickle entrapments of the other characters that it threatened to draw the attention away from the main plot: the play’s villain was the undisputed star of tonight’s performance.
6 responses below. Comments are open.
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What the halifax are you talking about? This play was worse than cot death.
Adz, I have to disagree with you there, I think shakespeare is really good at writing plays. you should really stop making fun of him.
That’s all well and true. However, I think Shakespeare would die another death had he seen what was done on stage last night. Had he have been there he would have blown his internal organs out through his bottom from sheer disgrace at what he’d allowed happen – however slightly.
‘Had he have been there he would have blown his internal organs out through his bottom from sheer disgrace at what he’d allowed happen’… slight over-exaggeration, clearly you didn’t understand what was happening… x
What exactly is a ‘purring Scrooge’, anyway? Is that some kind of tropical disease?
this has nothing to do with the article yet Tom Staite is the most beautiful man to grace this campus and I have no other way of declaring my admiration given a facebook add would be creepy as I don’t him and a twitter follow somewhat random. There I’ve said it. Plus he’s straight which throws everything out of the water.