Twelfth Night, or What You Will

First, the acting in this production is excellent, with each actor finding new aspects of the characters in ways you wouldn't have thought of before. Second, the staging is novel and invigorating without being coy and silly in the way some modernized stagings of Shakespeare can be. The multi-ethnic casting adds another dimension of tension and sensuality to the story. If you are familiar with this play, what is intriguing is how this production renders all the lines faithfully, but the text becomes a melancholic, philosophical reflection on life and love--very sweet and moving without being cute. However, if you are watching this instead of reading Cliff Notes, yes, you'll probably have trouble writing your term paper. You will have to pay attention as much as you'd have to pay to actually reading the play. The only real criticism I'd make is that some attempts to be arty with the camera (and editing) don't always succeed.

I have always liked Shakespeare's Twelfth Night - it's my favourite play. As such, I have seen many versions of it, both on film and in the theatre. With a play as old as Shakespeare's are, that's performed as much as this one is, it's difficult to get an adaptation that's new. I think this version managed to do that without taking it so far out of context that it didn't make any sense. I really enjoyed this version, as it was completely different to any I've ever seen before. I thought the leading cast members were all very good, especially Parminder Nagra who plays Viola. I loved the setting and agree with the decision to leave the Shakespearean language, as I think modernising language in Shakespeare never works - I have never seen one that does. The language is as much a part of the play as the plot. Overall, I don't think it was quite as good as the 1996 film directed by Trevor Nunn, but that's setting an impossible standard.

Normally, modern adaptations of Shakespeare tend to be clunky and forced; Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" and Michael Almereyda's "Hamlet" are perfect testament to this. Even Richard Loncraine's "Richard III" falls on dull devices trying to place the action of that play in the imagined setting of World War Two. Perhaps it is that the tragedies and histories do not lend themselves well to being updated or embellished (see Julie Taymore's "Titus") and would best be left as they are.

This adaptation of Twelfth Night, however, benefits greatly from the liberties Andrew Bannerman and Tim Supple take with it. Not only is the story better for the adaptation, but the songs are beautifully rendered and the acting and stage direction is superb.

Also incredible is how much they accomplished with so little. This is quite obviously a low budget television adaptation with only a dozen or so sets and very few frills, but what the producers and directors manage to achieve with so little is startling. Whatever Bannerman and Supple made this for could not have exceeded the cost of a luxury car, but the film is a far better ride.

I do like a lot of Shakespeare's plays, the language is not as easy to understand but some synopsis reading and some lessons on Shakespeare, like I had to do for English GCSEs and A Levels, will do just the trick. They have compelling stories and characters, and I love the poetic and witty style of the language. As much as I do love the likes of Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Merry Wives of Windsor(or Falstaff if you are an opera fan), Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night is my personal favourite. It is deliciously funny and contains some of Shakespeare's most poetic prose(Much Ado About Nothing and Antony and Cleopatra also).

This 2003 version is not the definitive Twelfth Night for me. My favourite is between the 1980 and 1987 adaptations, and the Trevor Nunn film is excellent too for its great acting and exquisite visuals. I did find Sir Andrew rather cardboard, though Richard Bremmer did his very best with the role and does gain some chuckles, and two performances didn't work. Chiwetel Ejiofor is certainly handsome as Orsino but his performance has no real insight or motivation. David Troughton I do like, but even for a very rustic character like Sir Toby I did find him a little too coarse. While I did like the melancholic feel that the adaptation has, making the play more dimensional and more than a comedy(though essentially it is that) I did feel some parts did drag.

Conversely, this Twelfth Night does look great. I always like gorgeous scenery and photography and there is plenty of that here. The songs are beautifully incorporated and have a nice sense of rhythm to them. The dialogue still has its poetry and is still hilarious, especially with Malvolio, while the melancholic aspect is done surprisingly well. There are some interesting touches, such as the asylum seekers subplot and the Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste and Maria spying on Malvolio via CCTV, and the multi-cultural aspect proved good, not just from a historical perspective but also it makes the play more accessible to a wider audience and ethnic minorities(or so I think). The performances are very good on the whole, Claire Price is very moving as Olivia, and there is a very amusing Feste from Zubin Varla. The standouts though were Parminder Nagra, who is not just entrancing to look at but her Viola looks very natural, and Michael Maloney's brilliant Malvolio, I did have a good giggle at the sight of him in yellow tights (pretty) hideous as they were.

Overall, interesting and surprisingly good. Maybe not the ideal version for everybody, especially traditionalists, but for those looking for solid fun this is a good watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Let's get the good things out of the way first. I loved the performances of Parminder Nagra as Viola and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Orsino; I quite liked the idea of using the back story that of asylum seekers (and the ambiguous ending where maybe it wasn't Viola's ideal happy ending); I thought using CCTV to watch Malvolio (a decent performance from Michael Maloney) in the garden was a great touch; and I liked the drum n bass feel to the songs.

But - overall I felt the poetry of the play to be stifled in its new home, and some characters to either be too cardboard (Richard Bremner's Andrew) or too coarse to gain audience connection (David Troughton, a superb stage actor, possibly miscast in this version as Toby). Tim Supple has a reputation in theatre for his invention and his risk-taking. I think perhaps Twelfth Night stopped just short of what he could have done with it within the context of battles between nations and genders. It is the kind of play which thrives with different interpretations, but this one just leaves you a bit disappointed by the end.