Twelfth Night Performance Review

  This past Tuesday we took a day trip to Oxford and were able to see Wild Goose Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night. When originally reading the text of Twelfth Night, I was actually laughing out loud which is not the case when I read other comedies written by Shakespeare. My favorite character when reading the play was the fool, but unfortunately they were my least favorite character when watching the show. 

In terms of direction taken for this production, it did not seem as though there was a clear and defined one. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the production, it felt like one I would have seen performed by a high school. There was nothing that really stuck out to me, and I was a bit disappointed that as a cast they did not really lean into the queerness of the text. It is no secret that Twelfth Night is a queer play, with characters such as Orsino expressing his interest in Viola both when she is Viola and when she is Cesario, and Antonio being interested in Sebastian. We can see Antonio’s interest in Sebastian through the text when he says things such as “His life I gave him and did thereto add / My love, without retention or restraint, / All his in dedication” (5.1.78-80). Similar to Antonio, Orsino’s attraction to Viola and Cesario is seen through lines of dialogue such as “Cesario, come; For so you shall be while you are a man; But when in other habits you are seen, Orsino's mistress, and his fancy’s queen” (5.1.408-411).

After taking a peek at the website for Wild Goose Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night, I believe that the cast that we watched was either an alternate cast, or this show is simply double cast for their performances. Regardless of whichever cast that we were able to see, I felt that for the most part they were spectacular. Though the majority of the cast was great, every time the Fool came on stage, I was taken out of the world built in front of me. I applaud the actress portraying the Fool for their bravery on stage, but I would have enjoyed seeing just about anyone else in front of me instead. I could tell that they were trying to portray this character to the best of their abilities, but instead it seemed like they were reciting lines that they struggled to remember to the audience. 

One character that I felt was casted and portrayed perfectly was Malvolio. His comedic timing during scenes was spot on, such as every scene after he received the note that he thought was from Olivia. Another time that I loved his character choices was in act 2, scene 3 when Malvolio walked in wearing a full length nightgown to shut up Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria. Not only did his nightgown look like it should have been in A Christmas Carol, but Malvolio’s body language was perfect in that scene. He was the one character that I knew when he was on stage I was bound to laugh. 

Though this production of Twelfth Night was not the best play that I have seen on this trip, it is far from the worst. If given the chance to see it again, I am not sure if I would solely based on the lackluster performance from the Fool, but maybe I would go again just to see Malvolio. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to see this production, especially because it was outside at the Oxford Castle and Prison, which I found to be really cool!