Twelfth Night

A balmy evening with no prospect of rain is always a good start to an open-air production.  Unfortunately what we got was thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour.  However, the decision to hold the first night curtain for half an hour did the trick: the rain stopped and the evening thankfully stayed dry.

Twelfth Night, arguably Shakespeare’s best comedy, would be a challenge for any amateur society.  A tale of deception, disguise and the madness of love all wrapped up in a fast-paced, classic farce which, when done well, is very funny…and Over Players did do it well.  From the front of house reception, which was warm and friendly, to the performance on stage,Over Players have much to be proud of.

The Old Vicarage Garden in Over made an excellent setting for open-air theatre.  The width of a natural bank and the flatter area below was used to good effect creating well-used opportunity for entrances and exits.  The large black and white chequered backdrop worked well.   

Costumes by Olive Swain and Christine Turner were appropriate and nicely thought out. The few props were functional and easily managed by the cast.  Well done Mike Bernard on sound, we didn’t miss a word.  Lighting an open air production presents its own unique challenge but the team led by Phil Norton did a grand job, coming into its own when the lights began to bite as dusk fell.

The play was cut well and the scenes flowed smoothly into one another without the dimming of lights.  The helpful programme guiding the audience through the scenes was a good touch.

As with everything in life, the timing’s the thing.  Twelfth Night requires slick timing, pacey, larger than life performances and a commitment from everyone in the cast…not just the leads.  And all played their parts with relish although cue bite in some of the earlier scenes slowed the pace on the first night.

The production had a fairly strong cast who had adapted well to playing outdoors, where subtlety often has to give way to clarity, although in most cases the two were combined admirably. 

Matt Sweeney gave a good Duke Orsino: although I was sorry that, because of the way it was cut, there was little opportunity for him to show his uneasiness as his infatuation with Olivia changed into love for the (apparently) male Cesario. He was however commanding in the final scene, when he came face to face with the icy Countess clearly and precisely played by Lucy Mann.  I would liked to have seen a more lively Feste Olivia’s Fool (Harry Ashby).  I felt the characterisation was unusually low-key.  Sarah Minchin as Sebastian I thought handled what was  actually a fairly minor role well.

Sir Toby (Jason Smart) and "the lower people", Sir Andrew (Luke Northfield), Fabiano (David Waterfield) and Maria (Tessa Kilvington-Shaw) gave us moments of farce as well as comedy.  The box tree scene comes immediately to mind as there was plenty of movement and visual humour, while giving Chas Barclay's consistently good Malvolio enough space to make the most of the reading of his letter, which was obviously savoured by both himself and his on - and off- stage - audiences.  

For me though, the performance of the evening was Vicky Richards as Viola/Cesario a character who faces the most challenges in the play. This was an outstanding performance in this demanding role.

A huge well-done to the entire cast…every one played their part and you all deserve the praise that will surely come your way. 

Finally, Charlotte Hockin is, in my opinion, an up and coming director.  She clearly brings out the best in her actors and I imagine she allows them creative input, which is a critical part in bonding actors with actors, actors with play and actors with audience.  Well done Charlotte I hope you continue to go from strength to strength.

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