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| Programme |
Viola and Sebastian are twins who become seperated when their ship is lost at sea. Viola is washed up ashore in a strange land, believing her brother to have drowned. She decides to disguise herself as a boy, Cesario, in order to enter the service of Duke Orsino. In the guise of Cesario, Viola quickly rises in the Dukes favour and she in turn soon falls in love with the Duke.
The Duke however, is enamoured of the Lady Olivia but she is in mourning for her brother and will not entertain his suit. Sir Andrew Aguecheek, the drinking partner of Olivia's uncle Sir Toby Belch, is Orsino's rival in his pursuit of Olivia. Orsino sends his trusted servant Cesario (Viola) to plead with Olivia on his behalf. Cesario (Viola) obeys his (her) lord but is dumbfounded when Olivia makes it clear that her amourous interests are turning towards him (her) instead. And so a love triangle has developed; Orsino loves Olivia, Olivia loves Cesario (Viola), and Viola loves Orsino.
When Viola's brother Sebastian turns up alive, unknown at first to Viola, the scene is set for a comedy of mistaken identity and romantic entanglements. Add to this a side-plot of Olivia's maid plotting revenge against the oily and unctious steward Malvolio, and the comical antics of Sir Andrew, Sir Toby and the clown Feste, this is Shakespeare's most outgoing and funniest comedy.
The setting for this production has been updated to the 1930's French Riviera, playground of the British Aristocracy. Why that choice was made I can't say, but it gives the play a slightly bizarre edge, blending classic Shakespeare prose with characterisations lifted straight out of the pages of P. G. Wodehouse. Nor does the setting particularly gel with the action, which includes pirates and sword fights!
The director expressed in the programme that it was his intention to make this a family production that parents could bring their children to. Unfortunately, this resulted in removing much of the vitriol from the action and a considerable slowing down of the pace. The whole production lasting just under three hours including a twenty minute interval.
The set consisted of a circular wooden 'bandstand' erected on a stage which had been converted to a sea of sand. With a trap door in the centre, and a draped sail which disappears in the opening scene, this doubles for all the locations in the play, including Malvolio's cell which is a grill in the centre opening.
Hattie Morahan, the daughter of Anna Carteret ("Juliet Bravo"), was superb as Viola/Cesario. For such a slender young woman her voice rang out clearly throughout the auditorium, and her bemused grin and looks of utter bafflement as her character stumbled from one surprise to another were a joy to behold. Charles Abomeli as Orsino exuded a suave charm that made Viola's love for this otherwise rather arrogant character more believable. John Lightbody was hilarious as Sir Andrew. I last saw him in "A Doll's House" where I thought his Torvald (abeit based upon a stiff character) was rather lifeless, but he clearly relished the comedy aspect of this role. In a striped blazer and hair raked up to a point he was the epitomy of the public school fop. Susie Trayling was a delicious Olivia, the sultry noblewoman who is the object of everyones desires. Her final outfit in particular being one to set the pulses racing. Antony Byrne as Malvolio and Colin Mace as Toby Belch each gave restrained performances giving more sympathy to their characters than is often the case. John Elkington as Olivia's clown Feste, a character which has little impact on the story, was unusually musically talented singing to his own accompaniment on guitar or banjo-ukelele. Daniel Crossley as Sebastian, Simon Harrison as Valentine, Guy Burgess as Fabian, Daniel Crowder as Antonio, Mia Soteriou as Maria and Damian Dawtry as the Priest rounded off the cast.
This is William Shakespeare meets P.G. Wodehouse. Unfortunately, between the slowing down of the action and the (too many) anomalies between the dialogue/action and the setting it doesn't truly work. Whilst there is much to be admired in the individual performances the whole is ultimately unsatisfying.