The sun was truly shining down on Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre for the opening production of its 2024 season; Owen Horsley’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will.
Often described as a bittersweet tragedy Twelfth Night is the delightful Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identities, unrequited love, and gender-swapping hijinks.
Horsley’s Twelfth Night revels in the queerness of the story. Yes, Shakespeare did write about same-sex relationships, and seemingly no-one batted an eye lid. But this production takes it further, setting the action in a queer cafe where Olivia’s court is a found family, comprised of mischievous Maria (Anita Reynolds) and Toby Belch, who in this version is a riotous drag queen, fabulously portrayed by Michael Matus.
There’s also a team of musicians; expanding on the music originally included in Twelfth Night, this production features nine songs in total, composed by Sam Kenyon and often performed by Olivia or Feste (Julie Legrand). The opening scene in which Orsino (Raphael Bushay) commands the band to play on, sets the scene for the kind of physical comedy we can expect throughout the play.
Matthew Spencer delivers this in spades as the dim-witted and clownish Andrew Aguecheek, and we see more of it from Richard Cant’s magnificent Malvolio. These aren’t the only examples of clowning, as several elements of the production utilises the technique to amplify and complement the queer narrative.
Viola, delightfully portrayed by Evelyn Miller, disguises herself as a man, leading to hilarious misunderstandings and romantic entanglements. This leads to several wonderful scenes with Olivia, played by Anna Francolini who brings a hint of Bette Davis to the role. When the existence of Sebastian (Andro Cowperthwaite) is revealed, along with his relationship with Antonio (Nicholas Karimi), the whole audience heaves in empathy for Olivia.
Basia Binkowska’s functional set gives us the appropriate sea-side tavern feel, but when the sun (literally) sets, Aideen Malone’s lighting design gives us 1980’s vibes with vibrant blues and pinks.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s opening production for this year reimagines Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as the queer cavalcade it perhaps should always have been. Owen Horsely and a fine cast, make this a thoroughly entertaining evening.
