TWELFTH NIGHT (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Twelfth Night is Shake-Scene’s Christmas production and I think it’s a great choice. Twelfth Night is an important part of Christmas. There was always a bit of a fight at my infant school about who played the Wise Men in the Nativity play.

I don’t think Twelfth Night or Christmas is actually mentioned in the play, though Sir Toby starts to sing something about the twelfth day in December, so maybe the main part of the action takes place on ‘the twelfth night in December’. But I think the title comes from the time when the play was first performed and it’s possible the play is also set on or around Twelfth Night. In Elizabethan times, the Festival of Twelfth Night involved men and women exchanging clothes and generally behaving badly. Perhaps this is why the play ends happily for most of the characters – maybe everyone accepts all the happenings as another typical Twelfth Night.

Lizzie Hughes (the producer, Book Holder, super swing and probably a million other things for Shake-Scene Shakespeare) talked about a discussion she had about Iago and Sir Toby. She hadn’t realised they were similar as she forgives Sir Toby but she doesn’t forgive Iago. She wondered if it was because Twelfth Night is a comedy (and nobody dies). I think comedies can make the actions of the characters seem different. I actually don’t always forgive Sir Toby. If he’s played as being very mischievous, I forgive him, but if he has a cruel streak, I don’t forgive him. This production is really funny so it’s easier to forgive, but I have seen a few productions of Twelfth Night which focus more on the dark side. I really don’t forgive Sir Toby in those productions.

Twelfth Night involves a lot of passing props (like coins and rings) to other characters, which is easy enough onstage, but a lot more difficult on Zoom. Ms Hughes says they worked hard on that and it really paid off. Everything with the props was really well-timed and perfectly-positioned. There is something magical about something disappearing and then appearing in exactly the right place.

The performances are all really good. I have enjoyed Siegffried Lowe-Walker’s performances a lot and it was very exciting to see him play Orsino. His Orsino was quite languid and eccentric, which I have never seen before, but I think it works brilliantly. Orsino is a Duke so he’s often someone with lots of presence and authority, but he is also a big romantic, the kind of person who will chase after a woman who is in mourning and then when he finds out she’s married, he marries his male servant instead. Those decisions are actually very unusual decisions so it makes sense if Orsino is a very unusual man.

I really like Aryn Mello Pryor as Viola too. She has a quality of seeming gentle but strong, the sort of person who makes other people (like Orsino and Olivia) feel safe. In those times, men were seen far more as the protectors so I could easily believe the other characters accepted her as a man, but I’m sure at the end, they are all thinking ‘Of course she’s a woman! Why didn’t I realise that?’. I think it’s important that Viola is still herself even when she’s Cesario because it means Orsino has got to know her and fallen in love with her without realising it. This is really sweet and it also contrasts with Olivia and Sebastian, who marry each other without knowing each other.

Eugenia Low plays Olivia and she is really lovely. Olivia makes very big decisions very quickly and completely throws herself into whatever she’s decided to do, but Ms Low always does this with honesty and sincerity and I really felt strongly that she is following her heart all the time.

Tamara Ritthaler is a very likeable Sebastian and although he and Viola aren’t that physically like, I did feel as though there was a similarity in their personalities which made them very believable as twins. I usually spend most of the play shipping Sebastian and Antonio, but I didn’t this time because there is something quite dangerous about Matt Williams’ Sebastian. It’s a really good performance because I liked him and felt interested in him, but I wanted Sebastian to be with lovely Olivia.

Linda Mathis took over the role of Sir Toby at short notice, but I never would have guessed. She characterises him so confidently and so brilliantly. Nell Bradbury is hilarious as Sir Andrew and I felt more sympathy for him than usual. Valentina Vinci gives Maria lots of personality and sass. She is always so dynamic onscreen.

Alexandra Kataigida characterises Feste brilliantly and she has a gorgeous singing voice. Fabian is a bit of an odd character because he comes into the play as some sort of substitute for Feste for a reason which is never given, but I really love the way Dewi Hughes’ Fabian is a completely different character from Feste.

Malvolio is played by Simon Balcon, who takes Malvolio through a full range of emotions while still being consistent to his character. It’s easy to understand from his self-important air at the beginning while he might not be the most popular person, but there are also lots of genuinely sad moments too.

It’s another really enjoyable production from Shake-Scene and we’ll be seeing another of their plays later this week so I’m excited!