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A blonde woman looking shocked after seeing a letter.

Twelfth Night

24 October - 19 November 2023

In the Playhouse | Bell Shakespeare | Theatre

A fresh retelling of Shakespeare romantic comedy Twelfth Night featuring all-new music by Sarah Blasko.

If music be the food of love, play on.

Orsino, Act 1, Scene 1

Hidden identities and unrequited love

Viola is shipwrecked and believes her twin Sebastian lost to the ocean. Washed up in a strange new land, determined to survive, Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario and finds work with Duke Orsino, only to fall head over heels in love with him. But Orsino is in love with Olivia, who – grieving for her brother – refuses all offers of romance. Until, that is, she meets Cesario for the first time. A whirlwind of passion ensues, leaving no one unaffected, not even Olivia’s prudish housekeeper Malvolia, played by Jane Montgomery Griffiths (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus).

Heather Fairbairn’s fresh retelling of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy is a dark collision of hidden identities and unrequited love. Featuring all-new music by Sarah Blasko, Twelfth Night ultimately asks us to find light in the darkness.

Presented by Bell Shakespeare

Artist information

Creatives

Director 
Heather Fairbairn

Designer 
Charles Davis

Composer 
Sarah Blasko 

Cast

Malvolia 
Jane Montgomery Griffiths 

Keith Agius 
Toby Belch

Sebastian 
Isabel Burton         

Viola 
Alfie Gledhill

Maria 
Amy Hack

Orsino
Garth Halcombe                                                                                              

Feste 
Tomáš Kantor

Antonio 
Mae Lacanilao

Olivia 
Ursula Mills 

Other information

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