twelfth night
2008 |
Twelfth Night show page |
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It’s a fact. Shakespeare is Britain’s greatest and most popular writer. But more than that, he is also a great entertainer. In the days before TV and cinema, theatre was the major form of popular entertainment and Shakespeare was the number one expert at pleasing the crowds, especially when it came to comedies such as Twelfth Night. “If you are at all terrified by the thought of seeing Shakespeare, worry no longer… there’s pace and action aplenty in this accessible production” Essex Chronicle on Macbeth 2006 The story and characters Twelfth Night is easy to understand. Here are the key elements: -
Duke
Orsino (a powerful nobleman) is madly in love with Lady
Olivia (a beautiful, wealthy countess), but Lady Olivia
is mourning the death of her brother and is not interested in
Duke Orsino at all. So at the centre of the story is this tricky love triangle: Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino. Duke Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia. Lady Olivia falls in love with Cesario, who is really Viola disguised as a man. They all start to woo their love interests, but things hot up when Viola’s twin brother Sebastian turns up. Everyone mistakes Sebastian for Cesario (or rather Viola in disguise) – not least Lady Olivia, who doesn’t waste any time with a proposal of marriage to Sebastian. Throughout the rest of play, Shakespeare unravels this sticky state of affairs, ensuring everything is resolved for a happy ending. And as we weave our way through the love story, we meet some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedy characters who manage to get themselves into some increasingly amusing situations: -
Sir
Toby Belch - Olivia’s uncle who drinks too much
and enjoys rowdy late night parties Now that you have a basic idea of the plot and characters of Twelfth Night you can sit back and watch the play unfold before you, enjoying all the elements that make this a fun-packed show. New to Shakepseare? Don't worry! People often think that Shakespeare is difficult to understand. Don’t worry if his language is not familiar to you, give your ears a chance to adjust and you’ll soon get used to it. Now you have an introduction to the plot, you’ll easily follow what’s happening. Shakespeare is not a foreign language. It’s English. Just slightly older English and it’s really quite similar to the language we use today. The words are nearly all the same, just sometimes in a slightly different order. And if words are different, they sound close to words we recognise today. The dialogue is just one of several ways to pick up what is happening on stage. You will also get an idea of what is going on by watching the action. You can tell a lot just by observing the actors, their movements and interactions. The show is directed and performed in a way to tell the story as clearly as possible – not just through words, but also through actions, movement, music, lighting, costume etc. Think of how much you can understand watching mime and silent movies or from listening to a film soundtrack. A good tip to
following the action is to work out who is who at the start. Once
you have clearly identified the characters it is even easier to
follow the story. This production – the setting and music Shakespeare's
plays can be set anywhere and at anytime – past, present and
future. His themes are relevant to all times, which is why his plays
are still popular today and why they work well in so many different
settings. The show is bursting with songs from the 1920s all performed live on stage, by the Queen’s versatile company of actor-musicians. Songs by composers such as Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers include: My Melancholy Baby, What is this Thing Called Love, Let’s Misbehave and Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love). |
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