Shakespeare’s works may be over 400 years old but they are by no means outdated, and the National Theatre’s current take on his comedy of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night, is evidence of just that. By changing the gender of Molvolio, starring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia, Simon Godwin’s adaptation brings a whole new dynamic to the play, recognising the diversity of sexuality and gender, openly portraying the same-sex sexual attraction that Shakespeare himself could only allude to. This adds a whole new layer of flexibility to the already side-splitting humour of the play.
Twelfth Night, directed by Godwin, is currently being performed at the Olivier Theatre; on Thursday 6th April, it was broadcast live to hundreds of cinemas across the UK, allowing a wider audience to enjoy the wonderful production. Following twins Viola (Tamara Lawrence) and Sebastian’s (Daniel Ezra) separation during a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as the male ‘Cesario’ and ends up working for the Duke Orsino, attempting to woo the beautiful Olivia on his behalf. Yet in the process of this, Viola falls for Orsino, whilst Olivia wishes to marry Cesario rather than the Duke. Meanwhile, mischievous residents and visitors of Olivia’s household trick her steward Malvolia into believing that Olivia is in love with her.
Lawrence gives a spectacular performance as Viola, her body language and physicality contributing brilliantly to the humour of disguising herself as a man. The physicality of this production as a whole is wonderful, with Daniel Rigby as Sir Andrew Aguecheek bringing tears of laughter to the eyes of audience members with his shameless dancing. Rigby and Tim McMullan as Sir Toby Belch are a hilarious double act, their mischief through the gulling of Malvolia truly helping the audience to feel involved.
One audience member said of Godwin’s production that ‘the set design was very clever and the play itself was hilarious and a great adaptation.’ This refers to the rotating set, which created a great deal of flexibility from scene to scene, allowing two key portions of the stage to be used – and thus reset whilst the other was visible to the audience. One example of this is when a portion of the stage is stripped almost bare; just a lightbulb and a stool subsist for Malvolia’s incapacitation.
During the latter section of the play, Greig truly conveys the breadth of Malvolia’s character; whilst she opens the play with stern restraint, and goes on to reveal a colourful wildness beneath this, she demonstrates true pain as Twelfth Night reaches its close. Here Godwin highlights the complex nature of this comedy – and indeed Shakespeare’s comedies in general – showing that even whilst great hilarity ensues, there also exists significant darkness. This contrast only adds to the power of this production.
Ultimately, through his production of Twelfth Night, Godwin explores and displays the benefits of bringing Shakespeare’s works to life in light of modern social changes. The diversity in this play gives it honesty – as Ezra said, it is a ‘human’ story, and Godwin demonstrates this to its full extent, making it a wholly enjoyable play.
Twelfth Night is showing at the Olivier Theatre until Saturday 13th May.
Emily Anderson, Rosebery School
