Shakespeare: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre)

Joshua Lacey (Orsino); Anita-Joy Uwajeh (Viola); Katy Owen (Malvolio); Marc Antolin (Sir Andrew Aguecheek); John Pfumojena (Sebastian); Carly Bawden (Maria); Nandi Bhebhe (Fabian); Le Gateau Chocolat (Feste); Tony Jayawardena (Sir Toby Belch); Pieter Lawman (Antonio);

Twins Sebastian and Viola are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, separated and believing each other to be dead. Beside herself with grief, Viola disguises herself as a boy and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. The Duke, madly in love with the Countess Olivia, sends Viola to woo on his behalf. What could possibly go wrong? Olivia falls in love with the cross-dressed page while Viola falls deep and fast for Orsino. Meanwhile, mischievous servants play painful pranks at each other’s expense. Heady chaos ensues as griefs, loves and deep human confusions collide, but fear not! Sweet resolution wins the day as friends, twins and lovers are reunited.

Cross-dressing, hijinks and bittersweet hilarity as Emma Rice directs Shakespeare’s timeless, soulful and irrepressible comedy – in a production unlike any other, taking the spirit and frivolity of disco to the high seas!

Reviews

"Twelfth Night reserves its sharpest barbs for purists and puritans. The humiliation of Malvolio, with his rule-bound antipathy to everything the play celebrates – excesses of music and food and love – is its abiding image. Rarely can that theme have seemed as pointed as in Emma Rice’s life-loving production at the Globe. Rice finds in Twelfth Night a brilliant reminder that, set against love and life, melancholy can be a little overrated." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"I watched much of the show with a broad smile on my face, both for its audacity and downright cheek ... the most entertaining, exciting Twelfth Night for years ... wonderfully refreshing." (The Daily Mail ★★★★★)

"Twelfth Night is often seen as Shakespeare's "perfect comedy", and in the hands of Emma Rice and her cast this production certainly lives up to those expectations. It's entertaining, heartfelt and extremely uplifting." (Broadway World ★★★★★)

" ... this show is pretty much essential viewing." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"It boasts an exuberant cast – blessed with a widely lauded performance from Katy Owen as Malvolio – and even some of Rice’s staunchest opponents admit that it generates mountains of feel-good energy." (The Stage)

"Audiences should take note: drop your guard, forget 'proper Shakespeare blah blah' and just enjoy. This Twelfth Night's a delight: a cheek-ache from start to finish. Great art? Probably not. Great fun? You bet." (WhatsOnStage ★★★★)

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