TWELFTH NIGHT
DIRECTOR’S NOTE:
I am so delighted to be returning to North Dakota Shakespeare Festival after last year’s Romeo and Juliet, to direct my favorite Shakespearean comedy Twelfth Night. I was in 6th grade when my Dad rented the 1996 film version of Twelfth Night starring Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter. At the time, I had heard nothing of this William Shakespeare and knew nothing of this story but as the two of us watched the film, I remember loving the language, cheering on the twins, and clapping to “The Wind and the Rain” sung by Feste at the end of the film. Most of all, it is one of the fondest memories I have of me and my Dad: laughing and dancing to the Festival of Fools that is William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
The story of Twelfth Night takes place in the land of Illyria, where Viola has washed ashore losing her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck. Having no means of providing for herself in a new place, she takes on the name of Cesario, and dressed like a boy, serves the Count Orsino. What follows is an interweaving love triangle between Orisino, Viola (Cesario), and the Lady Olivia, all of which are in love with someone who doesn’t love them back; a state of being that many can relate to, and an entirely delicious recipe for a fun comedic plot. The play is also littered with a group of fools including Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste, and the most “notoriously abused” Malvolio. This side plot contains some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedic characters but is still in many ways about unrequited love.
In our production we have created a world based on the Russian Critic Bahktin’s ideas on the Carnivalesque. According to Bahktin, all carnival can be traced to the end of year celebrations following the twelve days of Christmas, also known as the Feast of Fools. A time of fooling! A time of celebration! A time when masters danced with servants, and all is topsy turvy! Our production of Twelfth Night will be much of the same! Other elements of carnivalesque that you will see are open interaction with the audience, eccentric behavior, the interchanging between comedy and drama on a dime, and you may even be able to spot our master of ceremonies.
Watching these characters fall in love is a bit like watching someone trip and fall on their face. We can’t help but laugh but blush with embarrassment at the same time. On a basic human level, we can all connect with the immense grief of losing a loved one, the instinct of survival, and the utter frustration of yearning for someone who may not want you back. During this process, I had a shipwreck of my own. My Dad had a heart attack during our first few days of rehearsal and was rushed into surgery after flat lining for several minutes. As I tossed and turned throughout the day, I wasn’t sure if he had come ashore or drowned, until I got a phone call that evening and heard his voice on the other side. I can only imagine, that what I felt in that moment, was in some way similar to what Viola feels when she sees Sebastian at the end of the play. May this production bring to your heart what that moment on the phone brought to me: a sense of relief, a celebration and a smile that will rip through your very soul.