Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford-Upon-Avon – until 18th January 2025
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
5*****
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night tells the tale of Viola, who, when separated from her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck, disguises herself as a boy, calls herself Cesario, and becomes a servant to the Duke Orsino. The duke sends her to woo the Countess Olivia on his behalf, but instead the countess falls in love with Cesario. Meanwhile Olivia’s drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch and his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek play a trick on Malvolio, Olivia’s pompous steward, convincing him that the countess is in fact in love with him. Eventually Sebastian turns up, creating confusion, chaos and high jinx.
Prasanna Puwananarajah’s Twelfth Night is a directorial triumph. Staying faithful to the original, he has breathed new life into this production, making for a modern, magical, masterpiece. This is an exceptionally clever comedy balanced perfectly alongside the more melancholy and sinister aspects of the plot. Each character is fully fleshed out and well-rounded so we can engage with their journey, understand and believe their motives and emotions. A visual delight, we are shown so much in nuance as well as speech. A raised eyebrow, a nod of the head, a group laugh, there is not one moment that has not been thought through or considered.
Bally Gill plays Duke Orsino with poise and passion. Demetri Goritsas, Joplin Sibtain and Daniel Miller as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Sir Toby Belch and Fabien respectively provide some excellent antics alongside Danielle Henry as the superbly stirring Maria.
Norman Bowman plays the angst-ridden Antonio with authenticity paired wonderfully with Rhys Rusbatch’s rough and rugged Sebastian. Samuel West plays Malvolio to perfection, enabling us to follow the character as he changes from victimiser to victim. Freema Agyeman’s Olivia equally portrays the change from that of the bereaved to the beguiled flawlessly. Gwyneth Keyworth effortlessly traverses Viola’s emotional and physical shifts throughout the play. Grieving sibling, gender altered “Cesario”, mistaken lothario, and brutish brawler. Embodying each state convincingly she drives the play with wonderful wit and warmth. Michael Grady-Hall’s Feste, with his Eraserhead/Kramer esq shock of hair, is sensational. He completely mesmerises with his performance whilst taking nothing away from the other players. Ballads, ball play, mime, ventriloquism, his timing and presence is remarkable. Combined with Zoe Spurr and George Dennis’ brilliant Lighting and sound design they pull off some hilarious and unexpected illusions. James Cotterill’s costumes bring splashes of colour and along with Matt Maltese’s original musical composition, Twelfth Night is a sensation for all the senses. Puwananarajah has certainly achieved greatness in this Christmas cracker.