Twelfth Night
Playing at:	Pumphouse Outdoor Space
Plays until:	July 21, 2007
Theatre Company:	The Shakespeare Company
Reviewed by:	FULL REVIEW
User ratings:	(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)  Loading …

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a gleefully improbable slapstick comedy.

Director Iam Coulter and her talented company have mined the pure gold in Shakespeare’s story of lovers, fools and madmen.

One of Shakespeare’s favourite devices was the storm at sea and the one that opens Twelfth Night is a particularly mischevious one.

It separates twin brother and sister Sebastian (Neil James) and Viola (Rachel Gilliatt) each supposing the other dead.

Viola lands in Illyria and promptly disguises herself as a man named Cesario and becomes a servant to Duke Orsino (Justin Michael Carriere) who is madly in love with the beautiful Olivia (Emma Claire Miller) who, since the death of her father and brother has sworn off the company of men, or at least those who would be suitors.

There is that brief enough.

But wait it gets wildly more complicated.

Cesario falls instantly in love with The Duke but can’t tell him he/she is really a woman.

The Duke sends Cesario with his protestations of love to Olivia who instantly falls for the beautiful young man.

Ooops, boy do we have some major issues with sexual identity which Coulter exploits for all they are worth.

There is a wonderful moment when Viola/Cesario wants desperately to touch the Duke but fights off the urge.

Then when she/he does touch the man’s hand, Orsino has a confused look on his face.

Could he secretly be feeling something for his young servant.

Then there is the scene where Olivia throws caution to the wind and begins flirting, wooing and trying to seduce Cesario/Viola.

The actors have such great fun with the confused identities as does Sebastian when he meets the already smitten Olivia.

He doesn’t resist her advances which delights her and the audience.

If all this sounds like hilarious hijinx just remember, these characters are essentially the romantic element of the play.

The real clowns are waiting in the wings to really pour on the nonsense.

Olivia’s drunkard cousin Sir Toby Belch (Stuart James) has found a great dupe and drinking buddy in the foppish Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Cliff Kelly) plus stalwart conspirators in Fabian (Trevor Matheson) and Olivia’s lusty, feisty serving girl Maria (Iam Coulter).

They hatch the wickedest of pranks for the puritanical Malvolio (Janos Zeller), Olivia’s trusted servant who has a secret crush on her.

Director Coulter has devised a scene in which Malvolio reads a letter forged by Maria that suggests Olivia is in love with him that involves Toby, Fabian and Aguecheek hiding behind a tree that is side-splittingly funny.

One of the best devices in this production is Feste (Dan Perry) the real fool who is actually the real wise man.

Perry, dressed in traditional white face comedia de arte garb sings and quips in grand theatrical style.

Coulter’s Twelfth Night is so much fun it would be a shame to miss it.

Unfortunately it has a most limited run in Calgary in the lawn area behind the Pumphouse Theatre until July 21.

Catch it by all means and when you do remember to bring a folding chair or cushions, water, bug spray and even a picnic which several people did the night we attended.

The show starts at 7 p.m. and there are 2:30 p.m. matinees on Sunday July 15 and 21.

At $15, this one is a steal.