“DUCT have created a masterful, commanding, engaging and completely hilarious retelling of a Shakespearian classic”

Such a brilliant telling of a Shakespearian classic in the 400th anniversary year of the First Folio. DUCT have done a fantastic job at revitalising this well-known text. They have made what can often be seen as a heavy and confusing tale into something accessible and incredibly funny. 

A catastrophic shipwreck separates twins Viola and Sebastian with each believing the other to have perished at sea. Finding herself alone, Viola disguises herself as a boy and enters into the household of Count Orsino before stumbling into a perfect love triangle- only complicated by Olivia’s manservant, the pompous Malvolio, believing that Olivia loves him.

In some respects, it appears that they were attempting to replicating a theatrical experience at the Globe from Shakespearian times with ‘groundlings’ standing at the front and the inclusion of many songs and even a final full cast dance during the bows. 

Immediately you are struck by the complete grandeur of the set which was magnificently crafted into separate layers and effectively portrayal this mystical land of Illyria. Each layer of the stage was cleverly used to represent a different household or location, accompanied with beautiful and practical lighting. 

Impressive also were the impactful and intensely colourful costumes that exaggerated many individual characteristics all whilst remaining relevant to the period and practical for all involved. I particularly appreciated the choice to create symmetry between the twins clothing to further the character’s confusion over their existence, as well as the symmetry between the dark and brooding costumes of the Count and Countess which contributed to a wonderful tableau image at the end when all was resolved. One small criticism is that I think more could have been done to disguise Viola when she goes undercover as the manservant Cesario. 

The entire cast were utterly brilliant and the casting was spot on with each effectively portraying the character’s often humorous idiosyncrasies and hidden motivations. However, particular credit must go to the comedic duo of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew masterfully portrayed by Joe Rossiter and Alfie Cook respectively. Farcical handshakes and flamboyant choreographed elements accompanied by their extremely exaggerated facials and drunken attitudes frequently had the audiences in fits of laughter. I was also impressed with Alex Davies’ interpretation of Malvolio. There is great difficulty in playing a character with so many extremes in so short a time period and Davies played this wonderfully. A highlight of the entire performance was his reading of the decoy letter and his subsequent reactions. The absurdity of his imposing affection towards Olivia was so facetious and I am sure the majority of the audience will have difficult in removing the image of him thrusting his yellow stockings into Olivia’s face for quite some time! 

Overall, DUCT have created a masterful, commanding, engaging and completely hilarious retelling of a Shakespearian classic and I would highly recommend snaffling one of the few remaining seats for this upcoming weekend 

By Sydney Davies

Twelfth Night is performing at the Assembly Rooms Theatre until the 18th February

Photo Credits: DUCT