TWELFTH NIGHT (American Shakespeare Center/Blackfriars Playhouse/BlkFrsTV)*****

 

By Arran

Link: https://americanshakespearecenter.com/events/twelfth-night

Available until: You can buy this on its own or in a package with A Midsummer Night’s Dream or Twelfth Night or you can buy all 3 together at a discount which sounds like buy 2, get 1 free. If you buy a package, you have two weeks to watch it. I’m not sure about if you only buy one.

I really liked this production of Twelfth Night. There are things in the play that make me sad but I think it was performed in the best way so I was less sad. There are lots of different ways you can perform Twelfth Night and I like it best when it is a comedy. I don’t know why because some of the things that happen are very serious but it was like they made all the characters as nice as they could be without making them seem not like themselves anymore.

The bit that makes me sad is the way Malvolio is treated. He is different from the other characters and he does not fit in with any of them. I don’t think I am like Malvolio, he talks a lot more than I do but I know what it is like not to fit in. It is really hard for him and as soon as he gets a letter which he thinks is from Olivia telling him how he should behave he does everything he can to be the person he thinks she wants him to be.

I think the American Shakespeare Center handled this in the best way. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria do things that really hurt Malvolio but I don’t think they really want to hurt him. I think they want to have fun and they encourage each other and it goes too far. They seem like people who do things and they don’t think very hard about what might happen. They are adults but they seem childlike in this production especially Sir Andrew. Children can be very cruel too and sometimes it is unintentional but I think Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Feste and Fabian when they join in don’t really think of Malvolio as someone who can get his feelings hurt.

Dan Hasse is the director and he has put lots of comedy in the other relationships too. I think this really helps with the Malvolio storyline too because if all the scenes have comedy in then Malvolio isn’t so much of a comedy character, he’s just one character in a comedy.

I think the comedy works really well for the other storylines too. The situation with Viola, Olivia, Orsino (and Sebastian when he turns up later) is like a farce. Viola likes Orsino, Orsino likes Olivia, Olivia likes Cesario (who is Viola in disguise). I still like it when it’s performed in a serious way but I enjoy it more when it is comedy and I don’t have to worry about them so much.

Viola and Sebastian are played by Zoe Speas and Mia Wurgaft. It is a bit confusing because the cast list says both of them play both roles. I don’t think they actually do swap roles during the play. Maybe they are sharing both roles. But I’m not sure who plays which role. Viola is really determined, clever and resourceful and she is good at being a man. She is also a really nice person. She really loves Orsino and she is worried when she realises Olivia loves her. She is very funny too. Sebastian is physically slightly more like a stereotypical man. He has a little bit more swagger then Viola. He also seems like someone who lives in the moment and doesn’t plan things. So the twins are different but the costume and make up people did a really good job of making them look similar. Lots of people say twins are mirror images and they had mirror image hair with their partings on different sides. I really like their relationship with each other too.

Brandon Carter is quite a romantic Orsino. It is nice the way he shows he likes Viola even when he thinks she is a boy. Constance Swain is a happier Olivia than usual. She is funny and she has lots of personality. I like that and it makes me feel like she is more ready to marry Sebastian. I sometimes feel sad for Antonio at the end but Jessika D. Williams makes me feel like Antonio will be fine. He is supposed to be a rebel and I think this was brought across in a really strong and a really funny way.

Michael Manocchio is funny as Malvolio and he is not horrible. He is just a bit unusual. I think he always tries to do the right thing. Sir Toby Belch is played by John Harrell who played Iago. He is very silly and very funny as Sir Toby. Topher Embrey is quite a sweet Sir Andrew Aguecheek and he is very foppish and very funny. Sarah Suzuki is quite bossy as Maria but she has a fun personality and I like her even though I don’t like what she does.

This is a really good production. All the productions in this set of three (Twelfth Night, Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) are really good and it is nice seeing the same actors in different roles.