Twelfth Night

This was a strong cast, who were very well rehearsed, and it was obvious that the directors had worked diligently with all of them as they clearly understood the meaning of what they were saying and were not simply reciting lines. The pace, feeling and emotion exhibited throughout was great. The actors were all very comfortable with their lines and the different personalities of their characters which were established as soon as they entered the stage shone throughout. There was some superb characterisation and physicality from the cast, and they worked together very naturally. Shakespeare is not easy, but this cast all seemed very comfortable with the words and their delivery and phrasing of the prose and comedy was very well done. The director and cast brought out all the humour of the play without overexaggerating it and gave us a very funny drunken scene and some hilarity with ‘moving’ bushes as Sir Tony, Sir Andrew and Fabia were eavesdropping on Malvolio.

Set in the late Elizabethan period, the director stayed true the staging and costumes of the era transporting us back to the 15th/16th Century. The colour palate, which was predominately burgundy, cream, gold and red allowed for an obvious contrast with Olivia’s mourning clothes and Feste’s more outlandish colours. Malvolio’s black costume also made him stand out and gave perfect contrast for his cross-gartered yellow stockings. I loved his many chains and keeping them on him when he appeared in a night shirt and wee willie winkie hat was a lovely touch.

Thank you so much for inviting me to review Twelfth Night which I enjoyed immensely. Congratulations to the actors and production team.

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