Twelfth Night

Synopsis

Or What You Will. Shakespeare comedy of mistaken identity, practical jokes and unrequited love. Rescued from a shipwreck the twins Viola and Sebastian arrive independently in Illyria, both thinking the other is drowned. Viola disguises herself as a boy and finds employment with the Duke who is in love with Olivia. Malvolio is the subject of a cruel joke played on him by Sir Toby Belch (yellow stockings cross-gartered) leading him to believe that Olivia loves him. But Olivia has fallen in love with the disguised Viola, while she is in love with the Duke (following it so far?!).

Our Review:

10 April 2013

For the past 15 years all-male theatrical troupe Propeller have been building an impressive  reputation with their fresh, engaging and brawny approach to Shakespeare. Unafraid to adapt, mash-up and edit to create a good tale it’s a testament to their innovation that cock-in-a-frock casting is this production’s least notable element.

Illyria here is a stagnant stately home, in one wing weeps Olivia for the death of her brother, in the other Sir Toby Belch and his ne’er-do-well drinking buddies keep up perpetual party. Into this world stumble shipwrecked twins Viola and Sebastian, resulting in the requisite mistaken identities, love affairs and comedic subplots. One of Shakespeare’s most beguiling comedies it is a play of light and shade, the nuance of which director Edward Hall and his actors here deftly capture.

Chief among these is Vince Leigh as Belch, who ably underscores the Bacchanalian scenes with his nagging doubt about what wi...

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