A wonderful evening of midsummer entertainment
Viola lands on the shore of Illyria after losing her twin brother in a shipwreck. She dresses as a boy, calls herself Cesario and goes to work for a rich Duke called Orsino. What follows is brilliantly ordered chaos in which we find a love triangle, mistaken identity (of course) and ye olde classic resolution device of marriage to wrap it all up. It’s a story that has entertained audiences for centuries and this showing is no exception.
For the sake of transparency, Twelfth Night is my favourite Shakespeare play. I love the farce, the variety of joke styles from the blunt edge of slapstick to the sharpness of witty zingers, and I’m a sucker for a well-placed sex pun. Fortunately, this company have clearly gotten to grips with the material and with Sioned Jones’ direction wring much out of even the most predictable moments.
It’s a tricky dilemma to decide what concept you’re going to go with—or, indeed, whether to go with one at all—and here Jones and co have landed on the Jazz Age. It’s an apt choice to place this story in this world of decadence and absurdity and Emily Stuarts’ costumes do well to support this vision, while also immediately signalling the characters’ comic-strip personalities.
I’ve seen (and been in) my fair few productions of Twelfth Night and yet never have I witnessed the choice to double up the roles of Duke Orsino and Sir Toby Belch. I have to say it’s an inspired choice made all the more so by a roaring performance from Toby Gordon who seems to revel in the switch from his tweedy huntsman Orsino to his riotous Belch. Not only is the doubling a smart ploy to keep the cast small, it also helps to highlight the traits these people share: ‘Wow. Perhaps these diverse individuals aren’t as different as we might think.’ Mostly though, it’s fun to watch the guy who was doing that now doing this.
The whole cast of actor-musicians understand the assignment. Lucy Ireland’s Viola, disguised in aviator’s attire as Cesario, plays the increasing trickiness of her pickle well and has a lovely voice to boot. Fred Thomas’ pin-striped Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a delightful Laurie-ish fop who plays off his fellow mischief makers with ease and finds much fun in his pouty peacocking as Sebastian. I do believe there was even a second during our performance where he laughed at his own ridiculousness which the audience thoroughly enjoyed seeing. There’s no real gap between audience and performer in this space, made clear by the company’s frequent and cheeky moments of direct address to the first few rows. Carys McQueen leans in to the chances to find the funny in Olivia, particularly in her girlier moments of love followed by immediate self-criticism, and Marissa Landy’s flapper Feste has a ball playing our entertainer throughout with a full bodied expressiveness. Not to be unsung are Priscille Grace’s loyal yet slyly mischievous Maria who delights us with her lovely singing voice, and Lee Drage as Antonio and Sea Captain who brings a convincing depth to these characters who are, in my experience, frequently wasted.
Stealing the show is Richard Emerson’s snooty Malvolio whose voice effortlessly fills the warm air of Arundel & Ladbroke Gardens and whose comic chops have us laughing when he leaves and smiling in anticipation when he arrives. Sure, he has some of the best lines but this is in part only because he delivers them so delightfully and with such presence. Every Twelfth Night fan looks forward to the letter scene, and he doesn’t disappoint. Neither does his inevitable return in golden shorts and Argyle socks.
The songs interspersed throughout are enjoyable though occasionally feel more the result of logistics (a quick change, for example) than moments in their own rights, and some voices are occasionally lost in the mix—or dwarfed by a revving motorbike. If you’re a Shakespeare stickler you might also bemoan the loss of some lines in the edit or wish for a leaning further into the drama, such as in Olivia’s mourning or in the scenes with our almost-drowned twins, as well as into the funny. It occasionally felt as if not all the cast had the same memo in regards to how far they could take their choices.
Really though, this show is an absolute success and deserves to be packed out in every one of its 27 performances in 22 venues this summer. An innovative not-for-profit touring theatre is not to be sneered at, and Shakespeare in the Squares continues to excel with this latest summer hit. Don’t hesitate to go and have some old-fashioned fun in the sun.