As the majestic but appropriately hip André Sills took centre stage as Duke Orsino, accompanied by Rob Stone’s ultra-cool sultry trombone riffs, one could tell a unique version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was about to be unveiled.
Sean McKenna – an award-winning, much-loved thespian in her 45th acting year with 31 of those on the Stratford Festival stage – was about to make what was ultimately to be a highly successful but admittedly risky debut as a director. Having previously portrayed both the roles of Violet and Olivia at the festival in a work she describes as an “achingly beautiful play”, this time around she was returning to helm a production with a starkly new, even some may suggest radical approach.
With touches of dramatic tension interspersed throughout, Twelfth Night remains one of the bard’s most popular romantic comedies, a delightfully and often complex tale of unrequited love, mistaken identity and witty high poetry.
Taking on what is doubtless a daunting task, McKenna has cleverly reimagined the play in a setting closer to our time back in 1967, hinting at the onset of the Summer of Love many audience members (your humble scribe included) may well remember.
One of the more intriguing aspects of this production is the approach to casting, in terms of gender, so roles normally associated with one sex are reversed. This is neither gimmicky nor change for the sake of change or undertaken simply to amuse or shock Shakesperean aficionados.
Look no further than Laura Condlln brilliantly comedic and often not-surprisingly scene-sealing in a not anticipated touching portrayal of the arch villain Malvolio. Everyone’s favourite discipline of anti-fun, vain, self-centred, pompous and thoroughly unlikeable, she still manages to invoke at least a sense of sympathy when locked away alone in darkness for the then unproven crime of madness. Yet even with these alterations and substitutions, purists should nonetheless be delighted the essentials of the plotline are intact. A storm leaves Viola (Jessica B. Hill) shipwrecked on the island of Illyria, separated from her twin brother Sebastian (Austin Eckert), whom she presumes incorrectly is dead.
She disguises herself as Cesario to serve Orsino by delivering his unrequited love letters to Countess Olivia (Vanessa Sears). Both Hill and Eckert give admirable, consistent performances as the main protagonists. The plan goes awry when Olivia falls for Cesario, who is now in love with Orsino, who frequently demonstrates how he is smitten with Olivia. When Viola’s brother arrives, complications peak on several fronts.
McKenna directs the proceedings – both the traditional and newer takes on the classic tale – with firmness at a swift pace, a sure hand and clearly a genuine love for the material. The action flows comfortably with lines delivered with feeling towards the much-appreciated and recognizable key elements in the play. The company is solid with several standouts, in addition to the aforementioned Sills, Sears and the deliciously villainous Condlln.
A so-called sublot, wherein a quartet of mischievous ne’er-do-wells plot to foil and expose the behind-the-curtains efforts of Malvolio, curiously in love with Countess Olivia, is often more fascinating than the main storyline. Scott Wentworth is a standout as Olivia’s rude, crude more-often-than-not drunken uncle Sir Toby Belch tottering from scene to scene boisterously singing, hurling insults at Malvolio and, since this is the year of the Beatles’ groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, taking a shot on the drums as a would-be Ringo.
His co-conspirator in bringing Malvolio to her knees is Maria, the author of the misleading letter of love to Olivia from the villainous Puritan. Sarah Dodd is both witty and drop-dead funny, bringing life to every scene in which her trouble-making character appears.
One could never find a more suitable actor than the wonderfully silly Rylan Wilkie to play the foppishly hip Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who stumbles throughout the play, goaded into a duel with Cesario while his money is being secretly lifted by Sir Toby Belch.
In this foursome of back-stabbing miscreants Michael Spencer-Davis has his moments as a prankster, the cigar chomping Fabian – an insightful, quick-witted fellow who is always loyal to his compatriots.
Floating about in both Olivia and Orsino’s courts, Deborah Hay is top-notch as the clever fool Feste, songstress and more likely, as she points out, the wisest character in the story. While others may be rather dull, she is resourceful and never at a loss for words – either in song or dialogue. Like Aguecheek and the occasional back-packing hip hikers puffing on reefers, she is important to the time shift as a highly visible symbol of the Swinging’ Sixties.
A minor quibble could be the need of even more evidence the tale has been shifted from the Feast of Epiphany, January 5 – the 12 th day of Christmas in an indeterminate time around 1600 to 1967. Then again at nearly three hours, perhaps that’s not doable.
Not to be forgotten is Emilio Vieira’s rendering of the rather perplexing (to some) but vital character Antonio who – after the shipwreck – saves and then follows Sebastian throughout his journeys on Illyria. An important element to the main themes, Vieira effectively handled the dramatic role in a very moving and compassionate fashion.
While new to taking charge as a first-time director McKenna, along with a talented, exuberant and motivated cast and gifted companies of technicians and musicians, has produced a must-see production.
This is a five-star opening to the Stratford Festival 2024 season.
For any reviewer of Twelfth Night, particularly this modernistic version, there is that ever-present desire to offer anxious viewers an occasional but much dreaded spoiler alert. Even though the basic storyline has become unquestionably familiar to audiences over the centuries, there are so many nuances to explore in such an updated adaptation.
However, such temptation on this reviewer’s part has been studiously avoided so coming audiences can appreciate McKenna and company’s painstaking efforts to provide Shakespeare enthusiasts with a rather enticing look at a classic from a more current perspective.
Twelfth Night opened Monday, May 27 and runs until October 26 at the Festival Theatre.
