Twelfth Night

Overview

When most people are faced with some sort of hardship — and in Australia we're not short of a few what with bushfires, floods and drought — they band together for camaraderie and entertainment. After the 2009 Victorian bushfires, roughly 7500 people were displaced, living in temporary mass accommodation. We can't imagine how they managed to pass the time waiting to hear news, trying desperately to entertain young children. Or maybe we can? According to Bell Shakespeare, they started reciting Twelfth Night to each other.

It's a very creative concept really. A group of strangers, using whatever they have around them (in this case a huge pile of donated clothing), recreating one of Shakespeare's most screwball-like comedies to pass the time and cheer them up while they wait for news. Though perhaps completely unrealistic, the connection between the real world and that of Illyria is seamless as each character gradually starts becoming their role rather than simply reading verbatim from the text. The costume changes are transparently performed in front of the audience but this only serves to add to the comedy, particularly when it comes to Brent Hill who hilariously plays three separate characters of different genders.

Twelfth Night uses one of Elizabethan comedies most famous of comic devices to endless hilarity: cross-dressing. And in true Elizabethan style, two of the three main female parts in this production are played with great aplomb by men.  All of the actors in this show deserve a standing ovation, particularly as each one has to perform numerous roles. Scene changes and character transitions are flawless or when they are flawed just become another funny episode as one character's plans go awry when he realises he will have to fight himself.

Bell Shakespeare productions have a tendency of trying to place the text in some sort of modern setting and often this unfortunately adds very little to the production. In this case, the aftermath of some bushfire disaster is simply a device to have a mountain of clothes and other flotsam and jetsam covering the stage. In that sense then, it works. Though it is slightly jarring when we're suddenly transported back from Shakespeare to the contemporary world, it also offers a nice contrast of emotion between hilarity and drama.

For a truly Australian take on a Shakespearean classic, without resorting to okka stereotypes, director Lee Lewis has produced a dynamic, inventive and completely enjoyable play.