twelfth night at bristol old vic…

Moira and I went along to the Old Vic this afternoon to see Wils Wilson’s ‘take’ on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”… and it was quite wonderful! We’re SO lucky to have such good theatres in Bristol that put on such amazing stuff and, now that the brilliant new foyer is up and running (and operating beautifully), the whole theatrical experience at the Old Vic is second-to-none.
We’ve seen “Twelfth Night” performed several times over the years (including a brilliant one when Felix was performing at the RSC), but this was also very, very special. This production is set in the late 1960s – with all its music, its fashion, its style and when ‘pleasure-seeking’ was ‘celebrated’(!) – and is just perfect for this ‘take’ on the play. It’s colourful, confident, clever and an absolute delight (and very funny too). Obviously, the late 60s was ‘our’ period too, so we felt entirely ‘at home’!
You probably already know the play’s plot: Duke Orsino of Illyria is in love with Olivia, but his advances are rejected. A shipwrecked Viola arrives on his shores, and with the help of a Captain, disguises herself as a boy, calling herself Cesario, and enters Orsino's service. Orsino takes to Cesario, and sends 'him' to woo Olivia for him. Have you got that?
It’s a very modern interpretation of the play, with gender identification playing an important part (including Dawn Sievewright playing ‘Lady Tobi’ as opposed to Sir Toby Belch and Colette Dalal Tchantcho playing Duke Orsino).

The acting is consistently brilliant – the entire cast is hugely talented (they’re ALL stars) – and the music is stunningly good too (with, I think, six of the twelve actors playing a wide range of musical instruments and singing). Almost impossible to pick out the ‘stars’ of the performance but, for me, I thought Dawn Sievewright (Lady Tobi), Christopher Green (Malvolio), Guy Hughes (Andrew Aguecheek) and Dylan Read (Feste) are especially wonderful.  

It was an absolute delight… an absolute joy (I’d happily go back and see it all over again tomorrow!).
Photo: Christopher Green, as Malvolio, complete with cross-gartered yellow stockings.
PS: The high-heel boots of Malvolio and Andrew Aquecheek reminded me of one of my fellow architectural students (I'm blowed if I can remember his name: Alan Byrne perhaps?)... who, despite already being 6'3" tall, used to wear high-heel boots... handsome man with a very deep, refined accent and he consistently wore a velvet jacket and trousers... whatever happened to him?
PPS: The play runs until Saturday 17 November: if you’re within easy reach of Bristol, then I urge you to see it.