Join Oxford Theatre Guild in the parks, and be transported with assurance and charm into the 1980s, and “a field in the middle of bloody Illyria” for their neon romp through Twelfth Night. It works very well, and in this production I got to see things I’ve not seen done before (especially impressive as this is the second I've seen in a fortnight).
If Shakespeare had had the pleasure of living through this era he would surely have modelled Olivia on Kate Bush: as Fifi Homan so beautifully demonstrates, a truly feisty Olivia who is master of her own fate is vital, both when repelling love, and pursuing it. She wafts, with wild hair and bare feet, and a will of steel.
Viola and Sebastian are superb. Joe Lamb as Sebastian is a bouncy labrador of a youth, Ellie Higginbotham as his sister a little more careful, clever and circumspect, but they have the same mischievous feline smiles. Well cast, and exceedingly well costumed, the twins are double-take identical, something I’ve never seen pulled off before and it is wonderful to actually be taken in! Viola/Cesario carries the play, and when they announced that time must sort the plot out, it was too complicated for man, it was so reassuring, you knew you could just sit back and watch the plot unroll.
Freyja Madsen plays a female Malvolio, and it is the deceiving of her that becomes the true heart of the play. In modern times where women dressing as men is not controversial it makes sense to focus on the human cost of pranking your friends. Madsen is terrific - sharp, bossy, maybe dislikeable but genuinely in love with her mistress, and yes, the cross-gartering is top notch!
The rest of Her Lady’s household is interesting. Instead of two public schoolboys who might have been in the same House at different times, here we have David Lemberg as a Falstaffian Sir Toby who has met a Jason Donovan-a-like in the pub and dragged him home. David Leigh Delport and his pink socks do their best to woo Olivia without any real feeling, and in the end Sir Toby turns on him too. Maria (Ellen Publicover) is sharp and Puckish as Maria, causing no end of trouble and unrepentant, and again this crew's fluorescent camo and “disguises” are inspired.
We’d run to pages if I mentioned everyone but everyone was of note. The parts were intelligently configured individuals, the lines clear, the adlibbing and modifications fun. The 80s soundtrack was well used, though indoor acoustics would be kinder to voices, and I felt one or two numbers broke the fourth wall - they came across more as the actors singing than the characters.
Did we need another unseasonal Twelfth Night? Yes! As the co-directors say, the minute you think you know a play, it surprises you with something new. Go for the identical twins, stay for the yogic priest. So many lovely details among this grove of trees.
