Twelfth Night

Published Tuesday 22 April 2008 at 18:30 by Mary Redman

Anyone wandering casually in could be forgiven for thinking they were watching Anything Goes.

The cruise liner, the costumes, the musicians and singers. Wait a minute though, what’s this character doing dressing up as a boy and that one with boldly-checked yellow golfing socks?

Bob Carlton’s splendid vision of fast-paced life on the RMS What You Will is a romantic, Anchors Aweigh, jazz age box overflowing with bonbons. It has a silent film tremulato piano accompaniment and scene titles. While songs such as What Is This Thing Called Love, I’m A Gigolo, My Heart Stood Still, It’s Three O’clock in the Morning, My Melancholy Baby blatantly woo the audience.

Many of them sung sadly by Simon Jessup’s dryly witted, straight faced American crooner Feste.

Claire Storey’s toy boy-fancying Olivia’s gorgeously elegant hat has tall pheasant feathers echoing her every move. Stuart Organ’s lecherous sot Belch is a pander for Oliver Beamish’s chinless wonder Aguecheek - encouraging him to pursue Georgina Field’s jazz babe Maria’s virtue.

Paul Leonard’s Malvolio’s pent-up emotions are so twisted, words squeeze out of him with the ease of an empty toothpaste tube.

This is a production for everyone. If you know the plot of Twelfth Night, then Carlton’s filleting and rearranging makes sense and is fun to experience. If you’re a newcomer to the play, Carlton’s expertise will ensure you enjoy and understand what you are seeing.

This is also a supreme example of the tight teamwork we see whenever the Queens goes for tongue-in-cheek entertainment. What joy.