A ship is wrecked on the rocks. Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother Sebastian is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. So begins a whirlwind of mistaken identity and unrequited love.
'Twelfth Night' from The National Theatre was a great success, and a brilliant show of gender fluid casting that was so perfect! The play, 'Twelfth Night' about mistaken identity is also about the fluidity of love and sexuality. The casting of Tamsin Greig as Malvolia is bang on, just a brilliant decision by the Casting Director. She just has such great comedy timing and good instincts. They really got it right, her whole demeanour from Malvilio to MalvoliA shows a brilliant new side to the character that I have never seen. More like a stern school Ma'am than a puritanical steward, who could hand your backside to you quite easily. She just plays this awsome character belittling everyone and showing much desire to do so in the words she speaks using each insult and as an opportunity to pour out as much disdain as possible.
There was also a suprising little twist with Malvolia giving Olivia a strip-tease with a very comical chest piece which was well worth the laugh and my thoughts went with the dressers as I imagined them crossing their fingers hoping the rotators worked!
Tamara Lawrance’s Viola was wonderfully free and open, with a great range of experiences her character goes through she keeps up the heartache and drama nicely, even in the times that are ridiculous. I myself have played this character and getting into Viola's head is a big challenge and she is juggling so much, any moment something might be dropped.
My eye though was constantly fixed on Doon Mackichan [Smack The Pony, Gladiatress] who I love to watch in anything, just a brilliantly funny woman with a great character: Feste. She was marvellously decked out in glitter and neons which created an eccentric character for the 21st century and for me, was the best character performance of the play.
Set designer, Soutra Gilmour has created a multi-tasking performance space which doubles as both Olivia's home and Orsino's home; in fact, everything! So versatile, it's a directors dream and so beautifully designed it needed to get a nod. The costumes were beautiful and really all celebratory of each character and their situation. From Viola's first scene in hospital, to her Cesario disguise, it was all beautifully created.
A brilliant production from The National Theatre, a true treasure!
Reviewer - Keziah Lockwood
on - 6/5/20
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