I'm a HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEE Shakespeare buff. HUGE. When I discovered that the Royal Shakespeare Company was performing Twelfth Night in London, I flipped out a little bit. When I discovered that they were giving away free tickets to under-25s, I flipped out A LOT. Part of the reason I dragged my friend down St. Martin's Lane on Monday was to get tickets.
I'm always surprised by the seat quality that London theater's offer for their youth programs. In December, I saw Inherit the Wind with Kevin Spacey. I paid only £12 for a seat in the first row of the Dress Circle--- I had a bit of an obstructed view, but I could see a lot more than people who paid way more money than I did. For Twelfth Night, we again got amazing seats--- 4th and 5th row from the stage.
The production was amazing. Beautiful set design, interesting production choices, and lots of color. The director took inspiration from 19th century romantics who would go on Grand Tours of Europe and the Middle East. This Twelfth Night was enhanced by sweet incense, whirling Greek dancers to live music, orthodox priests, and vibrant costumes of woven cloth and intricate embroidery.
The characters seemed to be romantics themselves, almost enjoying the pain of love more than the relationship itself. I was particularly struck by Duke Orsino, played by Jo Stone-Fewings, who loved a woman beyond reason or necessity, even though she could not love him back. Granted, Shakespeare did this so Orsino could hook up with Viola in the end--- I get that. In this production, though, Stone-Fewings reveled in each rejection, each spurned advance.
I also thought that the director made an intriguing choice to emphasize the bitter and melancholy aspects of this comedic work. Generally, there are only two ways a Shakespeare play ends--- everyone dies, or everyone gets married. Since Twelfth Night ends in a triple marriage (Orsino and Viola, Sebastion and Olivia, Toby and Maria), it can undoubtedly be considered one of the Bard's happier plays.
The director ended this production in discord, though. As the fool Festes gives us one more song, miniature scenes are played out before the curtain call. Antonio, who rescued Sebastian from the waves, is abandoned by his friend, life debt unpaid. We see the effects of Toby Belch's destructive alcoholism as his marriage to Maria dissolves. Finally, a broken Malvolio wanders across the stage and pauses before the audience. This highlights another interesting aspect of the production. Malvolio was played with marvelous old-man arrogance by Richard Wilson. Because of his age, the cruel trick played on Malvolio is more than helpless fun--- it destroys a man, uproots his vision of the world and his place in it. If a younger actor had played the part, Toby's jest would have been just that--- the character would be embarrassed, hopefully less arrogant, but still intact. Wilson, on the other hand, showed how the tailored, buttoned-up steward dissolved into a fragile old man.
All of these aspects, especially the set design and costumes, resulted in a vibrant, transportive production. For a few hours I was taken out of the Duke of York's Theatre (which is really cool, by the way--- it was built in 1892!) and transported to Illyria. God, I love it when Shakespeare is done right.
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