Twelfth Night

Having previously enjoyed a number of productions by Carlton Theatre Group it was a pleasure to have returned on this occasion. ‘Twelfth Night’ is a complicated and multi-layered love comedy complete with deception, disguise and the madness of love all wrapped up in a fast-paced, classic farce. As such, it is arguably his best comedy and definitely my personal favourite.

Staging any Shakespeare play is a challenge that many societies simply won’t entertain. With their complicated and unfamiliar dialogue, such performances demand a strong cast that possesses excellent character acting and interpretation skills. Without these, the main reservation must surely be that today’s audiences will fail to fully understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s works. ‘Twelfth Night’ is a marvellous vehicle, for a richly talented cast to perform, and something to truly enjoy watching when delivered properly. Given the high standard of shows Carlton has previously presented I must admit to having high expectations on arrival…

Directing one of her favourite Shakespeare plays, Rebecca Herrera delivered a refreshing, modern production and not simply a ‘rehash’ of the traditional approach. Whilst in no way altering the plot, or text, the changes elsewhere were wholly appropriate and genuinely added to the production. This was a very well-selected cast and one that had been meticulously rehearsed.  The pace, feeling and emotion exhibited throughout was excellent and this resulted in a flawless production.  Simply put, this was an excellent example of how Shakespeare’s work should be staged.  Congratulations for all your hard work and effort in directing ‘Twelfth Night’.    

Alice Mills is to be congratulated for her efforts as Composer in creating the music to accompany Shakespeare’s words. Repeatedly, throughout the performance, Feste reverted to his storytelling mode and, with the use of his guitar, broke up straight dialogue, created more interest and also distracted the audience during moments of transition. I greatly enjoyed these musical moments, and Feste’s antics, both of which seemed highly appropriate and to ‘fit’ perfectly.   

Set and Costume Design were by Beatrice Cramer and both proved highly original and effective. The idea of creating a stage in an attic full of so many forgotten items was intriguing. Having any required props simply pulled from those scattered items already onstage ensured the pace remained high and the performance flowed.  I also found the idea of costumes hanging onstage, for the cast to quickly change, to be another fabulous idea and very effective.

Once again Carlton Theatre Group staged a difficult and challenging production without the backup of a prompt and once again, they proved that a prompt simply was not required.  This refreshingly capable cast  made the performance for me, full of expression, energetic and capable of handling the text in a manner that made ‘Twelfth Night’ very accessible.

 

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