Written by orange• July 13, 2024• 7:03 pm• Review, Theater, UCI, Uncategorized

New Swan Shakespeare Festival : Twelfth Night, or What You Will @ UCI – Review

Written by Diana Michelle Robles

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is one of Shakespeare’s ever-transfiguring tales. The New Swan Shakespeare’s rendition of the play transforms Illyria into a pirate’s dream. This show is for lovers of dramatic irony. After two siblings presume each other gone after a mishap at sea, a series of mistaken identities, intense feelings and cruel jokes take place. Being one of Shakespeare’s comedies, this show was expected to be funny. Yet, director Eli Simon’s retelling of the story through its new, eye-patchin’ theme is refreshing and overflowing with fun.

Shakespearean works tend to be overflowing with characters, and Twelfth Night is one that particularly has lots of moving parts. However, the ensemble work from New Swan’s cast ensures that each character is not lost at sea. The night was full of memorable performances coming from a mix of student and professional actors.

Acting:

Jokesters Maria (Rachael Vanwormer), Sirs Toby (Greg Ungar), and Andrew (Zach Trent) are typically always fan favorites in this play. However, New Swan’s version of these characters really combined their physicality and hilarity. The big four, Viola/Cesario (Annelise Hermsen), Sebastian (Conner Sheehan), Olivia (Anna M. Fitzgerald), and Orcino (Adam Koda), proved exceptional and full of chemistry, leading to an especially satisfying reveal at the end. And, of course, the most difficult casting for this play must be the one for Malvolio, one of Shakespeare’s most famed laughingstocks. In this production, Abel Garcia gives a laugh-out-loud performance that leaves the audience giddy at certain times and squirmy at the others. In true pirate fashion, this show had a lot of swordwork, and under the direction of Fight Director Michael Polak, it seemed to come naturally to the cast.

Costume:

Katie Wilson’s costume design was beyond detailed and extravagant. Highlights for the costuming were the looks done for Antonia, who wore a dashing red pirate uniform, Countess Olivia, whose garments were accurate and draped her just right, and Orcino, whose costumes captured his delusion and vanity. However, the shining star for this costume department was unsurprisingly their version of Malvolio’s famous yellow stocking outfit, which was over the top, ultimately matching Garcia’s performance.

Set Design:

It was clear this set had all hands on deck when it came to its production. Upon entering, it was delightful to see the theater itself was turned into a pirate ship. It felt complete, even though, looking back, there was not too much to it. I constantly find resourcefulness in small productions impressive, and this show had that trait.

Overall:

Twelfth Night has been done and redone many times over, but even those who have seen its many renditions would find purpose in grabbing a ticket to this show. It takes work to make the old seem new, but through the apparent hard work of its talented company, New Swan’s version is a treasure to be found.