This is Shakespeare Perth’s sixth season of Shakespeare in the Park. Audiences are growing, year by year, because the productions are invariably polished, professional and highly entertaining. This year’s offering, Twelfth Night, is no exception.
What’s more, the company has become a cohesive ensemble. Of the cast of ten, only two were newcomers, and it is obvious that the players have developed a strong team spirit. The beauty of a long season is that this spirit is continually being reinforced, so that the performance becomes seamless – and great fun for the actors as they grow in confidence, settle into their roles and develop them in subtle ways. Because of this, I was glad to see Twelfth Night mid-season.
Shakespeare Perth is not frightened to play with the Bard’s material. Many lines in this production are not by Shakespeare, and there is the odd bit of ad-libbing that added to the fun. Moreover, it is all in the spirit of Elizabethan theatre, and I suspect that if the author were looking down on these players, he would heartily approve and laugh as loudly as anyone. Director Paige Newmark gets away with what some would consider sacrilege by making sure that the interpolations are in the right style and rhythm, except for a couple of places where the comic team (David Davies as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, James Hagan as Feste, Stephen Lee as Sir Toby Belch and Angelique Malcolm as Maria) deliberately step out of the play and address the audience directly. Sacrilege? Maybe. Funny? Definitely.
Like much of Shakespeare’s work, Twelfth Night makes great demands on our suspension of disbelief. We have twins, a boy and a girl, who are mistaken for each other. For this to work, you really need players of similar height. Gracie Gilbert, as Viola, is a good twenty centimetres shorter than George Allen (Sebastian) and their facial similarity counts for naught because of this disparity. On the other hand, dressing the pair in similar clothing that resembles that of an English public school boy, or a keen member of a yacht club, is a stroke of genius. Gilbert’s petite build makes her transformation into ‘Cesario’, a young page, very convincing. It also allows for some amusing business when she snuggles up to Orsino (Nick Maclaine) whose alarm and embarrassment is palpable!
However, given that Viola seems to have been transformed into a twelve-year-old boy, Olivia’s infatuation with ‘Cesario’ appears incredible at best and downright kinky at worst. In the final scenes, where Olivia (Hannah Day) marries Sebastian, believing him to be the same chap as the delightful page Count Orsino has been sending to her with regular and unwanted messages of love, all suspension of disbelief is shattered because they are both on stage at once and it’s obvious that no person with any eyesight left could possibly get them confused. I suspect the director took a gamble on this one, hoping that the audience would laugh at the sheer incredibility of the situation. For me, at least, this didn’t quite work.
But as in all shows, it’s swings and roundabouts, and overall this was a very satisfying production. Nick Candy gives us a thoroughly convincing Malvolio, Andrew Kocsis, playing both Antonio and Valentine, skilfully depicts two completely different characters, and Stephen Lee, doubling as a larger-than-life priest, contributes Irish and Russian accents that have the audience in fits of laughter.
Designer Jake Newby must be mentioned for his amazing set built from suitcases, and choreographer Jessica Waters for the amusing dance routines that turn up from time to time. I would particularly like to commend James Hagan’s singing: he has a fine voice, and is skilful enough to know how to sing ever-so-slightly out of tune when necessary.
Do go to see Twelfth Night if you can: it’s more than worth the entry price. But remember to take a blanket to sit on and another to wrap around you. King’s Park on a summer evening can be downright cold.
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Twelfth Night
Shakespeare WA
Director: Paige Newmark
Set and Lighting Design: Jake Newby
Costume Design: Ingrid Proos
Choreography: Jessica Waters
Sound: Warren Myers
Stage Manager: Simon Haydock
Cast includes: George Allen, Nick Candy, David Davies, Hannah Day, Gracie Gilbert, James Hagen. Andrew Kocsis, Stephen Lee, Nick Maclaine and Angelique Malcolm
Fraser Ave, Kings Park
Shakespeare in the Park 2014
www.shakespearewa.com
3 January – 1 February
