Twelfth Night @ The Lyceum, Edinburgh
A decadent, psychedelic extravaganza, which raises interesting questions about gender stereotyping
William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night was written in 1602 for the Christmas season. The joyful celebration which surrounded the play originally is echoed in this co-production of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Bristol Old Vic, with director Wils Wilson placing a hedonistic, colourful 60s and 70s spin on proceedings. In short, it’s a psychedelic party, and we’re all invited.
The tale begins with a shipwreck, with twins Viola and Sebastian becoming separated, and each believing the other is dead. Viola adopts a male disguise (Cesario) and begins working for and falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Lady Olivia, who ends up falling for Cesario. When Sebastian arrives in town, confusion reigns as the instances of mistaken identities flow from one scene to the next and hilarity follows.
When the play was originally performed back in the 17th century, women were not allowed to act, therefore all the roles were played by men. This led to the scenario of a young boy, playing the part of a woman, who was disguising herself as a man. This layered identity was an early and fascinating questioning of gender roles, with both male and female characters displaying masculine and feminine characteristics. This question of subversion is tackled on stage in this production with female actors playing a number of the leading male roles, forcing the audience to simply focus on the strength of actor to embody the part, regardless of their sex.
Designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita has injected real pizazz onto the stage through the costumes, with bright bellbottom trousers, sequins galore, feathers, bells, and furry purple wigs, making this play a feast for the eyes as much as anything. The set continues on this fun, contagious theme, with performers making entrances via a fire station pole, climbing ladders into the upper circle, and hiding behind single-twigged bushes with tremendous comic effect.
Bells and whistles aside, the cast in this production truly shine. The drunken and mischievous Lady Tobi (an interesting gender switch from the original) deserves special praise, played with such energy, bounce and talent by Dawn Sievewright. Meanwhile Christopher Green as the at-first smart-suited Malvolio has the audience in stitches as he sasses his way around the stage in yellow lycra, following a trick which makes him believe Lady Olivia has affections for him.
A funny, decadent, joyful production – despite all the frivolity, Twelfth Night still manages to prod important questions about gender stereotypes.
Twelfth Night, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until 6 Oct