Review:
‘If music be the food of love, play on!‘
The only other Twelfth Night production I’ve seen was when I was 16 and my mum took me to an outdoor show by The HandleBards at the Painswick Rococo Gardens. There were only about 4 actors who threw themselves into a dozen characters. At one point I was pulled up on stage to hold a plate in front of my face and was given lines and then told I got them wrong and I was a disgrace to the company. Although the plot baffled me, the show embodied all of what the theatre experience should be to me; chaotic, escapist, alive and stays with you long after the curtains fall.
While the current Corona climate has forced us indoors, we’re having to adapt to a few changes. It has however meant that organisations have reached out to us, I suppose to boost morale. One of these organisations is The National Theatre who are broadcasting live recordings of past shows free of charge once a week. This Thursday they presented Twelfth Night directed by Simon Godwin in a hypnotic and modernised retelling. With Tamsin Greig at the helm as the pompous and ill-fated Malvolia, a role originally written for a bloke who jumps from haughty housekeeper to a love struck fool and believes her bright yellow stockings are the key to her mistress Olivia’s heart. The show merrily skips along with an abundance of strong performances that makes use of the topical gender bending themes.
So the story, Viola and Sebastian are identical twins separated in a shipwreck. The siblings find themselves in a foreign land both believing the other is dead and set out to find work. Viola disguises herself as Sebastian in order to gain employment under Orsino who is in love with Olivia and uses Viola’s charms to help woo her. This of course back fires when Olivia falls in love with Sebastian who is actually Viola who has in fact fallen for Orsino. Meanwhile, Malvolia is in love with Olivia and is fooled by some of the local drunks who forge Olivia’s handwriting in a letter addressed to Malvolia confessing Olivia’s undying love for him, I mean her. Meanwhile the real Sebastian bumps into the group and you can imagine the confusion that befuddles them. By the end even the couples aren’t sure which twin they are really in love with, while the poor Malvolia is left loveless and betrayed. A killer performance from Tamsin, who speaks Shakespeare’s lengthy monologues with ease and draws out both the comedy and tragedy of her role in equal excellence.
Staged on a beautiful revolving set that helps break up the narrative and is accompanied by a thumping live band, transporting viewers to a delirious neon club scene, Malvolia’s naked prison cell, the fountain filled gardens of Olivia’s mansion home and on and on.
The National Theatre have really hit the nail on the head with this one, making Shakespeare accessible to contemporary viewers. Go watch Twelfth Night, it’s an experience that will have you smiling and scratching your head like an idiot in your sitting room as you plunge into the magic of theatre told at its best.
You can access the National Theatre Live streams on their Youtube channel and Twelfth Night is only available to view until Thursday 30th April, so get on with it!
Millie Mussett 