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The Twelfth Night, or what you will, or whatever

All photos taken by Dennis Wahlman / Mainstream

UCC’s “The Twelfth Night” provided a slight modernization of the classical Shakespeare play. A more approachable language as well as bright, colorful and pleasantly different costumes appealed to many. The play is no longer showing; however, more plays are coming.

"Oh peace! Contemplation makes a rare turkey cock of him, how he struts under his advanced plumes!" - Fabian

The theatre arts department put on it’s own version of the classic Shakespeare tale of “The Twelfth Night”. It was not the typical, classical play that comes to mind when most people think of Shakespeare.

Director Stephanie Newman made her own version of The Twelfth Night. Instead of setting the play in the traditional Victorian times, it was featured in a Steampunk genre. All of the clothes and the scenes as well as the language were bright, colorful and pleasantly different.

Many people do not watch Shakespearean plays, because the language is hard to follow. By making minor changes to the script of the play, Newman made the language more approachable, so anyone could follow along and understand what was going on. No excuses can be made for not attending this play.

The whole play is about twins, one boy and one girl, who are separated during a shipwreck. They both think that the other has died and each sets out across the strange new land. The sister, Viola, sees this duke and decides to dress up as a man and work for the duke because she has fallen for him.

Duke Orsino is in love with the Lady Olivia, so he sends Cesario, Viola, to woo her for Orsino’s sake. The ladies maid Maria and Olivia’s drunken cousin, Sir Toby Belch, play a dirty trick on her servant, Malvolio. Olivia falls in love with Cesario (Viola) instead of Orsino, leaving this strange love triangle.

Meanwhile, her brother, Sebastian is traveling the country side. Sebastian ends up at the same court as the Duke and Lady. Viola approaches Sebastian thinking that he is Cesario, and they get married. Viola knows nothing of this and everything blows up when Orsino tries to marry Olivia, who is already married to whom she thinks is Cesario.

The confusion continues when Sebastian shows up. They realize that Cesario is not a man but actually a woman. The Duke Orsino and Viola ends up getting married and both couples, and siblings, live happily ever after.

The modern day references added into the script helped people understand the jokes. The script contained jokes and puns throughout the entirety of the play, and the acting was well-performed.

The Twelfth Night was one of the funniest forms of entertainment I have seen in quite a long time. A lot of people loved it and thought it was funny and engaging. A friend of mine who attended the play with me enjoyed it so much he is actually going to attend the play again this weekend and is going to bring more people with him.

I have attended many Shakespeare plays, and this is hands down my favorite. The cast was great, and there was amazing chemistry between the actors. You could tell they were into what they were doing and were having fun performing this piece for the audience and for themselves.

One of my personal favorite scenes is when the character Malvolio tries to get the love and attention of the lady Olivia. He thinks she’ll love him if he smiles and shows off a pair of yellow double-crossed gartered stockings. In truth, she hates smiles and yellow and double-crossed gartered stockings. It was awkward, funny and beautiful all wrapped up in one scene.

If you did not get the opportunity to watch this play, then make sure you make it to the next performance that UCC puts on. The scenes come to life. It was the highlight of my weekend, and I plan on going again before it leaves.