NEWS ARCHIVES Twelfth Night jewel in Resurgence lineup At one point in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the puritanical Malvolio reads aloud that "Some are born great, others achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em." And while Olivia’s steward may have been deceived by the flowery words penned with malice by the countesses’ waiting woman, Maria, audiences need fear no deception. Nay, all they must do is sit back and soak up the greatness before them. Twelfth Night has long been amongst my favourite Shakespearian plays and this latest version is satisfying to say the least. It’s clean, well executed and, most importantly, fun. It tells the story of twin siblings separated by a disastrous shipwreck. Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria and, thinking her brother dead, dons a masculine disguise and seeks employ in the court of the Duke Orsino. Now, it happens Orsino is in love with the Countess Olivia who will love no one as she is grieving her dead father and brother. Orsino sends Viola, calling herself Cesario, to woo Olivia for him, but she falls in love with Viola who is actually in love with Orsino. As if things weren’t complicated enough, the play also includes some very mischievous servants, a pair of lascivious knights and the eventual return of a very-much-alive Sebastian, who happens to look just like the disguised Viola. Hilarity ensues. Resurgence Theatre Company co-founder and Twelfth Night director Lee Wilson deserves much praise for bringing this rendition of the classic play to life. Under his direction, the show looks slick and polished and is a balanced mixture of style and substance. The cast also deserves a great deal of the credit, as well, as they are simply fantastic. Rising star Christine Horne handles the lead role of Viola capably, bringing a quiet reluctance to the text that really sells her character’s dilemma of being a woman disguised as a man named Cesario. Her take on the role gives it a certain vulnerability and, most importantly, makes the somewhat outlandish scenario believable. Similarly, in the role of Viola’s brother, Sebastian, Kevin Walker is her polar opposite, displaying overt confidence and unflinching bravado when approached by the other characters who confront him thinking he is Viola. It makes for a lot of laughs. Resurgence co-founder and general manager Anthony Leo shows his acting chops aren’t the least bit rusty in the role of Duke Orsino. He handles his role well and shows a formidable acting prowess upon the stage and really brings his lines to life. Meanwhile, Lara Jean Chorostecki, as Orsino’s unrequited love Olivia, also puts in a fine performance and really brings a great range to her character. Between her work in Resurgence’s The Secret Garden and now Twelfth Night, she has simply been stunning. Last, but most certainly not least, nowhere near enough can be said of the supporting cast in Twelfth Night. Shaun McComb, who was great as The Secret Garden’s Dickon, continues to delight, this time bringing his comic timing and welcome energy to the role of Feste, Olivia’s fool. As an added challenge, he even sings and plays an instrument. Equally enjoyable are Philip Riccio as the clueless, cowardly Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Ian Deakin as the lewd, perpetually drunken scamp Sir Toby Belch. The pair get more than their fair share of laughs, especially when joined by Feste and the equally wonderful Nathalie Toriel as Olivia’s waiting woman, Maria. Of course, what would the aforementioned band of merry mischief makers be without their patsy? And what a patsy they have found in Don Carrier’s Malvolio. Malvolio is all one would expect him to be and more - stone-faced, morose and deadly serious at the beginning and ranting, raving and seemingly mad by the end. The forced smile and yellow, cross-gartered stockings he dons in his efforts to win Olivia’s hand will haunt me in my dreams. In a good way. All in all, Twelfth Night is a fantastic show and one that makes a fitting crown jewel in the season that has been dubbed, "fit for a queen". Resurgence’s production of Twelfth Night is on until Aug. 24 in Newmarket’s Fairy Lake Park at the foot of Water and Main streets. Tickets are $27 for adults, $22 for students and seniors and available at resurgence.ca, the Newmarket Theatre’s box office at 505 Pickering Cres. or 905-953-5122. © 2008 York Region Media Group. All rights reserved. | ||
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