tell me everything about the production of twelfth night
TY PEARL
Okay so I already shared the photo of the set but it looked soooo much better in real life it genuinely really impressed me it deserves its own bullet point because of how good it was yeah just set appreciation <3
The opening scene was done at first to a sea shanty and everyone dancing with blue fabrics around the audience
They made a ship out of the actors with a mast and wind everything it looked soooo good I wish I had a photo of that (obviously couldnt show because my friends' faces would be in it but)
Then the music and lighting changed and everyone was SCREAMING AND IT WAS SO CHAOTIC AND BRILLIANT IT REALLY SOUNDED LIKE A STORM OHHHH MY
That part was really really incredible, they were throwing each other around with ropes and fabrics and viola and sebastian were screaming for each other it was so good
It should be noted that viola and sebastian actually DID look very similar, they passed as twins well, and they were SO GOOD
Anyway literally all of the actors were incredible I dont even know where to start they just did it so so well
Something I noticed that I dont think was intentional but if it was it's SO clever, is that when things were going well and controlled, the actors were on the stage, and when the characters were losing themselves and getting frustrated/stressed/confused etc they were on the ground with the audience
The director played Olivia with a two week's notice and she was BRILLIANT OH MY GOD
She played Olivia so stuck up and full of herself but also so loveable I adore that
And she wore this lovely purple dress which should be mentioned <3
Sir Toby and his gang were SO FUNNY OH MY GOD
When they were first introduced it was like a PROPER party scene with blasting music and alchohol, and the guy playing Sir Andrew was SO FUCKING FUNNY he was dancing and yeah it was really funny top 5 scenes tbh
And Malvolio oh my god dont even get me started..
The guy playing Malvolio is one of the best most eccentric people I have ever met and he was BRILLIANT oh my god like completely stole the show he was so good and he wore heels and screamed at Toby and co all the time
Fr better than any Malvolio I have ever seen in any other production
He acted so over dramatic and flamboyant and irritated by EVERYTHING it was INCREDIBLE
Antonio was played as being really really in love with Sebastian woooo <3 gay rights
Just mentioning again how funny and brilliant Olivia and Viola were
Also mentioning again how funny Sir Toby and co were, especially in the scene where Malvolio was reading the letter that Maria wrote pretending to be Olivia
They had plant pots and were hiding behind them and Sir Andrew rolled around on the ground with his plant pot and Malvolio didnt even realise he was there and jumped over him
Shoutout to the narrators too they were super funny
Anyway in the scene where Malvolio tries to confront Olivia about the letter, he came out in full drag, corset, skirt (obviously yellow stockings)
I had been told he was going to give a drag performance but OH MY FUCKING GOD?????
HE WAS LITERALLY SO GOOD I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY. He'd had eyeliner on before but like much bigger now + with red lipstick too and he was doing a PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE
That scene got the most cheers they lasted a while AND TOO RIGHT HE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD
My god life changing
Another small detail, in the scene where he was locked up, his eyeliner was running down his face and his lipstick was smudged and he was sobbing it was so good and funny
More Antonio and Sebastian being played as if they're in love it was super funny
WHEN VIOLA AND SIR ANDREW DUELED OH MY GOD IT WAS HILARIOUS they were both like sobbing and didnt know how to duel and were running away from each other and toby and the rest of his gang were eating popcorn and watching
Viola jumped on his back screaming at one point
The whole scenario of everyone finally realising who is who was so funny and done so well
Viola had a fake moustache drawn on the entire time and at the end she took out a makeup wipe and in like 0.1 seconds rubbed it off really hard and fast so that it was just all smudged all over her face and she screamed "I AM VIOLA" and jumped into Sebastian's arms
And at the end everyone had another party like scene it was SO funny and brilliant and good and Sir Andrew was the last one to come offstage doing his stupid dancing that he kept doing all the way through the show
I think the music choices are also worth noting. Malvolio's drag performance was to Milkshake, and they kept playing Somebody Told Me which is obviously a very fitting play for this show. And they played Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy a lot, and they played Mad World once I LOOOOVE those songs. I dont personally like this song but they played Girls by girl in red too which obviously also fits the theme of this show so yeah. Brilliant music choices.
