Either my education’s failed me or I’ve failed my education as this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the great William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will.
A production by the Pell Mell Theatre Company at The Space on the Isle of Dogs, I had no preconceptions of what the play was about, let alone how it compared to the written word or other stage adaptations.
Twelth Night came across as organised chaos – entertainers with painted faces stretched, performed, laughed and mocked the other characters and we never quite know whether they’re visible to all on stage or if they just act as a narrative device to help the audience’s understanding.
At times they were comedic in their moves, at other times they were somewhat distracting pacing about the stage while the audience tried to keep up with the main characters.
I was glad to see Shakespeare’s chief ploys of gender swapping and love triangles present.
Orsino pines for Lady Olivia, but she’s ironically hypnotised by Orsino’s page boy, Cesario, a woman who’s disguised herself as a man. And Cesario – aka Viola – is in love with Orsino.
The play is predominantly set at Lady Olivia’s home, where we meet her outspoken maid Maria, her pompous chief servant Malvolio and where her uncle, Sir Toby, roams the corridors after late night drinking sessions.
We also meet Feste, the fool who is wickedly honest and surprisingly witty and who shone through his thickly painted face.
As the love triangle heightens and madness has descended on the cast as the once disinterested Cesario has now wed Lady Olivia, is forced to fight Sir Andrew who’s also trying to win Olivia’s heart, and comes to blows with his/her master Orsino who believes he’s been betrayed, Sebastian enters.
The long lost twin brother of Cesario/Viola stands in front of the whole cast and all is now made clear. The way Sebastian was revealed and the way we saw each of the characters seem to realise the truth was a great strategy.
And though the play’s a little farcical as Lady Olivia is happy to have wed the male counterpart of Cesario, it was heart-warming to see Cesario revealed as a female – as she’s able to declare her love for her master, Orsino.
Viola, played by Ella Garland, was truly fantastic – she had the right mix of authority and playfulness for the role.
You couldn’t help but warm to Malvolio, played by Andrew Seddon, who paraded around in a grand suit before dressing in yellow stockings in the belief this would win the heart of Lady Olivia.
The actual play was simple in terms of props, and I think this was the right move, as the costumes were majestic and the lighting and music filled the stage.
Twelfth Night is showing at The Space until 8 August – tickets are available from https://space.org.uk.