Theatre Review
Twelfth
Night, by William Shakespeare. Twelfth Night has long been one of Shakespeare's most popular works.
One of his middle comedies, written at the height of his purest comic
genius, it is a tale of cross-dressing, confusion, unspoken and unreciprocated
love, madness, witty word-play and Tom-foolery. The twelfth night
of Christmas looks onto a return to the routine of life and is the
climax of this festive season; the play is thus full of the excesses
of music, drinking and emotion. Twin brother and sister (Sebastian and Viola) are shipwrecked and
brought ashore to Illyria; each thinks the other has drowned. Viola
presents herself as the eunuch 'Cesario' to serve Count Orsino (who
she falls in love with). A Countess Olivia (whom Count Orsino is trying
to woo through 'Cesario') then falls for this disguised Viola. The
comic subplot features similar misplaced love, hand in hand with drunken
roguery, slapstick and song. To add further to the mayhem, Sebastian
is abruptly landed in the centre of this, being mistaken for 'Cesario'. Don't miss this opportunity to find out how this complicated plot
resolves itself. The City of Oxford Theatre Guild, which comprises
a mixture of amateurs and professionals from all over Oxfordshire,
is a strong company, and was evidently very well directed here by
Gerald Gould. The production is overall quite 'straight': the costumes
are elaborate but not intrusive and the music, taken from various
sources, is simple, folk-like and effective. The professionalism of
both performers and direction is refreshing. Lines are well-paced
with neither disrespect for nor overindulgence in the text. The most
highly commendable performances are those of Abbey Wright, who brings
out the uniqueness of Viola amongst Shakespearean females beautifully;
Kerry Elkins (Maria, Olivia's waiting-gentlewoman), John O'Connor
(the infamous Sir Toby The balanced and contrasting elements of romance, comedy and the
cruelty directed against the puritan, Malvolio, are realised very
effectively Andy McBeth, 4 / 5 / 00 |