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In this post, three reviewers report on a Twelfth Night and a Julius Caesar in Armenian translation, a comic Iranian version of Macbeth, and a Shakespeare-themed dance performance, as the Armenian Shakespeare Association's conference Shakespeare 400: The Enigma of Endurance coincided with the annual Shakespeare Theatre Festival in Yerevan.
Read More“Public Works, The Public’s local and national initiative that invites diverse communities across New York to join in creating ambitious works of theater, celebrates its fourth year at the Delacorte with an enchanting new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night with music and lyrics by the critically acclaimed songwriter Shaina Taub. Professional artists and community members from partner organizations in all five boroughs perform together on stage in this love story that follows the young heroine Viola, who disguises herself as a man when she washes up on the shores of Illyria. When Viola’s new boss, Duke Orsino, sends her to win over his unrequited love, the Countess Olivia, Viola’s disguise proves too effective, and the Countess falls for the young girl dressed as a boy instead. Artistic Director of Baltimore’s Center Stage, Kwame Kwei-Armah, directs this musical fever dream about love in all its many disguises, and transformative power of walking a mile in another's shoes.” –description from the Public Theater website.
Read MoreIn this adaptation of Twelfth Night, "Dan Jemmett’s playful, poetic production takes audiences back to the seaside of the 1970s, as Feste the clown breaks out his vinyls of Herb Alpert and Geoff Love on his vintage turntable, and five actors frantically slip between the play’s 18 roles in a farcical mix of music hall, pantomime and vaudeville, where boys play girls playing boys playing girls" (description from Festival Programme).
Read More"Forsooth! An interactive playback theatre with admirable clowning and fooling, partying and pranks, masque and revels based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Wit and humour for thine family in its entirety” --description from Fringe Programme.
Admirable Fooling or What You Will was created as the culmination of a summer camp for 6-18 year olds which ran from August 1-13, 2016 at the Theatre School's base in Musselburgh (Edinburgh). The children also devised a free street performance.
“Fiesta in the sunshine. Siesta in the shadows. Black malice. Bright love. Board BOAC flight 1212 for Illyria, Costa del Sol 1980 for the flight of your life!” –description from the Fringe Programme
Read More“Will poor Viola ever find her twin brother Sebastian? Expect adventure, suspense and lots of laughs. A perfect introduction to Shakespeare in the picturesque surroundings of St. Peter's.” –description from the Fringe Programme
Read More“Our flagship show for this coming season will be Twelfth Night. A show that is about adventure, and sailing ships and the crazy things people do for love. That sounds a lot like Perchance, its theatre and the artists who want to work there.
A beautiful, yet much more serious exploration of the season’s theme will be Romeo & Juliet. This show delves into the darker side of love and the lengths we will go for it. There are lessons to be learned about single-minded pursuit and rigid stances that we can all take away from here.” –from the Perchance Artistic Director Danielle Irvine, in the 2016 programme
Read More"One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies and our original Backyard Bard play, Twelfth Night features a love quadrangle and some very trying houseguests who show no intention of leaving! Twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck. Viola, disguised as the boy Cesario, is the intermediary as Duke Orsino attempts to woo the wealthy countess Olivia. Of course, Olivia falls for Cesario, and Sebastian’s unexpected arrival on the scene leads to some hilarious complications. Will everyone end up with a spouse? Will it be the one they expect?"
Read MoreTwelfth Night/Henry VI
Presented in English
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, Ithaca, New York, USA
July 7-14, 2016
The Ithaca Shakespeare Company
“This summer, we'll be pairing the epic fourth installment in our history series with one of Shakespeare's richest and best-loved romantic comedies.
An exploration of love in all its forms, the crowning glory of Shakespeare's romantic comedies is a richly layered and endlessly entertaining play. Hilariously funny and deeply romantic, Twelfth Night features: a shipwreck, a clever heroine in disguise, twins that no one can tell apart, multiple cases of mistaken identity, a lovesick count, a lovesick countess, a pair of drunken pranksters, a duel (sort of), a pair of yellow stockings, a pirate, a fool, a madman, a bunch of lovers, a bunch of songs, and a whole lot of smiling!
When Henry V dies and leaves his young son on the throne, the divisions in the kingdom break open and England erupts into civil war. The Wars of the Roses pit the house of Lancaster against the house of York — one led by one of Shakespeare's most formidable women, and the other driven by the ominous rise of the future Richard III.
Drawing on material from all three parts of Shakespeare's Henry VI, this sweeping epic features the first appearance of Richard III, two of Shakespeare's strongest women in Queen Margaret and Joan of Arc, the scene that gave birth to the phrase "the Wars of the Roses," a popular rebellion with the slogan "Let's kill all the lawyers!", and some of the most thrilling and intense conflicts that Shakespeare ever created!” –From the company website
For More Information:
http://ithacashakespeare.org/prod/201607/index.php
Funding and Sponsorship:
Tompkins County Tourism Program
Cayuga Medical Center
Separated from her twin brother Sebastian after a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy to serve the Duke of Illyria. Wooing Olivia on his behalf, she is stunned to find herself the object of Olivia's affections. With the arrival of her brother, and a trick played on Olivia's steward, confusion reigns supreme in this classic romantic comedy of mistaken identity, songs, dances and multiple marriages. Twelfth Night is considered Shakespeare's most lyrical as well as experimental play. Piya Behrupiya transposes the action from Illyria to India in the form of a Nautanki and makes Shakespeare's gloriously sunny comedy come alive.
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Morecambe’s first Shakespearean festival is set to run over the weekend of Shakespeare’s birthday. Alongside theatrical performances there will also be music, dance events, art and poetry readings. The theatrical productions include: Twelve Nights; Romeo and Juliet; Shakespearean Murder Mystery; Puck’s Dream; A Shakespeare Gallery; Henry V; The Tempest; and The Play’s the Thing.
Read MoreA youth performance of Twelfth Night for the Shakespeare 400 festivities in Ottawa.
“Featuring a shipwreck, practical jokes, mistaken identities, a rascally jester, an uproarious sword fight, and lots of music, Twelfth Night has long been one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. Like all Company of Adventurers productions, this year’s show is ideal family entertainment, a great way of introducing kids to Shakespeare.”
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Dominic Gerrard's play was commissioned for the V&A Performance Festival 2016. A theatrical tour, led by Malvolio, descends into lively chaos when Sir Toby gatecrashes it, and Maria gets caught in the middle of a ferocious argument. This promenade performance features the real Great Bed of Ware (part of the V&A collections), mentioned in Twelfth Night.
“Meet Malvolio who has been practising speeches all day for his tour of Lady Olivia's private collections but things very quickly start to go wrong once his guests arrive...”
Scena Mundi's Twelfth Night “takes the Elizabethan style to a church catwalk” in Soho.
Director Cecilia Dorland says: "I love the subtlety and elegance of Twelfth Night and the richness of its language. For this production, I want to create a shimmering world of mirrors and illusions where the nature of true love is deformed in many conflicting reflections. Twelfth Night’s appeal lies in its wit and lightness and that’s what I’ll encourage my cast to explore. It is a play in which nothing is too serious, yet all leads to vital decisions and self-knowledge, a play in which appearances are all important, yet depth of feeling is what matters in the end. I hope audiences will accept the challenge to come and see their own image in this shimmering mirror."
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Long live falling in love! In this romantic comedy of intrigues, Shakespeare celebrates the madness of humans and shows how the power of love enchants us away from all reason. This is a show for everyone who has been in love, wants to be in love, and for those who want to stop being in love and return to their rational selves.
Read More“A salt and pepper pot for the king and queen. A vase for the prince. A matchbox for the servant. A toilet roll tube for the Innkeeper. A water bottle for the messenger.
In Complete Works six performers create condensed versions of each and every Shakespeare play, comically and intimately retelling them, using a collection of everyday objects as stand-ins for the characters on the one-metre stage of an ordinary table top."
A thrilling 100-minute fully-staged versions of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, specifically for Key Stage 3, 4 and A-Level students, as part of the Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank series.
Read MoreLove makes fools of us all. Illyria is a topsy-turvy place full of romantics and eccentrics. At least that’s how it seems to Viola, who’s been cast adrift in this merry world. Out of necessity, she disguises herself as a boy but quickly becomes an object of desire to the woman her employer sent her to woo. Time eventually sorts it all out, but not before Viola and everyone around her are bewitched, bothered and bewildered as they traverse the often contradictory landscapes of their hearts. This sumptuous production sets Shakespeare’s wise, lovely comedy in a shimmering, tune-filled 1930s Hollywood.
Read More“Filter’s explosive and irreverent new take on this story of romance, satire and mistaken identity combines dynamic narrative drive with a torrent of sound and music creating one of the most accessible Shakespeare productions of recent years.” --information from the Filter Theatre website
Read MoreThe production premiered in 2014, presented in 2016 in a revival to celebrate the Shakespeare anniversary. Academy award winner Nicola Piovani composed the musical score which is played live during the show to accompany the Clown’s songs and to provide musical accompaniment to scene changes and to underline key moments.
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This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
