Twelfth Night - Wyndham's Theatre

SYNOPSIS

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night - the classic tale of mistaken identity, romance and heartbreak from the pen of William Shakespeare - comes to the Wyndham Theatre near Leicester Square on 5 December 2008. The play, whose cast includes Sir Derek Jacobi as Malvolio, is a production from Michael Grandage's Donmar Warehouse. Sandwiched between "Ivanov" starring Kenneth Branagh and "Madame de Sade" featuring Dame Judi Dench, Twelfth Night is the second of four plays to run through the course of a year long stay there by the Donmar team. The curtain comes down on Twelfth Night on 7 March 2009.

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Shipwrecked and believing her twin brother, Sebastian, drowned, the beautiful Viola finds herself alone on the shore of Illyria. It is a man's world - and to get by in it Viola assumes the identity of a man. She dresses in male clothing and calls herself Cesario. As Cesario she finds work in the service of the Duke of Illyria - Orsino.

Orsino suffers unrequited love for the Countess Olivia. Cesario (Viola) becomes the messenger between Orsino and Olivia, but to her horror finds that Olivia is falling in love with her male alter ego. To complicate matters further Viola herself finds that she is falling in love with Orsino - a situation exasperated by the revelation that Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, did not drown after all, but believes Viola to have drowned!

Confusion, jealousy, love lost, love found, fights and duels ensue as Twelfth Night tumbles towards a conclusion that sees everyone happy - that is except Malvolio, the conceited steward in Olivia's household, whose unhappiness can really only raise a smile from the audience.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare needs no introduction. He is one of the world's most revered poets and playwrights - an icon of English literature who has produced a catalogue of classics that are as fresh and as relevant now as they were when they were first penned some 400 years ago. Twelfth Night from William Shakespeare is first and foremost a romantic comedy. It was written in 1601, coinciding with the Christmas season. It is from the 12 days of Christmas that Twelfth Night founds its title.  

Shakespeare's skill was in developing situations out of our most basic emotions - desire, love, greed, compassion. This he achieved with spectacular results in Twelfth Night, weaving in the use of mistaken identity to create a memorable farce. Twelfth Night is noted today as one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedy plays.

Donmar Warehouse and Sir Derek Jacobi
 
The Donmar Warehouse, situated in London's Covent Garden, and presided over by Michael Grandage, is renowned for its ambitious and creative projects. In their collaboration with the Wyndham Theatre the team hope to showcase their work to the wider public. In casting Sir Derek Jacobi as Malvolio (Jacobi has worked with Grandage before in a production of The Tempest - and has featured in the Donmar production of A Voyage Around My Father), Twelfth Night is certain to capture the attention of West End theatregoers and go some way to achieving Donmar's aims.