Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Bell Shakespeare.Directed by Lee Lewis. Playhouse, Canberra Theatre, Oct 12 - 23. Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, Oct 26 - Nov 27.

This most recent production of Twelfth Night by the Bell Shakespeare Company is in stark contrast to the last one by the same company that I remember seeing (oh, how many?) years ago. The old production starring John Bell as Malvolio, with discontent and lugubrious expression after being caught with yellow cross garters is but one of the highlights from another age.

This new vision by Lee Lewis takes the audience into a different fantastical world with a strong grounding in Australia and Australiana. Seven people are cut off from the world around them, refugees from a bushfire with little contact with the outside world, information coming via poor and variable television reception. Who are these people? One can guess and part of the fun is in the guesswork. Andrea Demetriades plays a young woman with a fire service coat and is searching for her brother. Her very grief is palpable. As the frightening unknown outside the place of refuge recedes, the words spoken by Max Cullen from an old Shakespearean edition create the new world: a world of magic, a lost brother, a shipwreck, cheeky servants, thwarted love and bawdy merriment. Viola emerges from her shell, and the fantastic begins.

The set is simple – a few boxes, a television, the only shopping trolley in Canberra without squeaky wheels, and most of all, a monstrosity taking up much of the stage: a pile of old clothes. The hill of discards almost deserves a cast listing of its own. It is there for actors to change from one character to another with one or more garments, or transforms into a starlit pinnacle for Olivia (played by Kit Brookman) in a wedding dress.

Brent Hill was a show-stealer with his portrayal of Maria not to mention his Antonio and Valentine (with seven actors, one has to be amazingly flexible). Ben Wood’s facial expressions while stepping out in yellow lycra were worth a thousand words, surely one of the most striking Malvolio moments I’ve seen for a while.

While entranced by the contemporary placement of the play and the almost magic realism that permeated the theatre, part of me was wondering if this production almost verged on patronising the audience. Yet, slashes through the text are nothing new, and maybe what Twelfth Night has needed for a long time is someone to cheekily explain what’s happening and who’s who in the vernacular.

Quibbles aside, there were moments when the inclusion of contemporary songs worked, and the murmur of recognition that swept through the audience showed how appropriate some of the choices were. After all, Tubthumping fitted in perfectly and the final “number”, Walking On Sunshine worked well, promising the hope and happiness that is expected and delivered.

Rachel McGrath Kerr
 

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