Few venues lend themselves to Shakespeare quite like Regents Park Open Air Theatre, and this season’s opener – a shimmering, starry-eyed production of Twelfth Night - is not to be missed.
OUR VERDICT
Rich Lakos
The show’s artwork – featuring chiselled jawlines, nautical stripes and Jean Paul Gautier vibes - sets the tone perfectly for this modern-day telling of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, which, in director Owen Horsley’s lengthy production, is set in a queer seaside café that has lost its sparkle.
“If music be the food of love, play on…” goes the memorable opening line before Shakespeare’s clever medley of humour and heartbreak unfolds. It’s a story of mistaken identities, unrequited love, gender-swapping and drunken revelry that lends itself perfectly to the al fresco wildness of this unique London venue, where trees rustle, stars twinkle, and parakeets swoop and squawk mid-show.
In a set thoughtfully designed by Basia Bińkowska, the café in question is called Olivia, named after the fabulous diva who runs it (a tremendous Anna Francolini) and who is consumed by (hilariously dramatic) grief for her recently deceased brother. That is until a shipwreck catapults a certain Viola into the café, and Olivia falls head over heels in love.
Rich Lakos
But of course, it’s complicated; it always is. And so, cleverly directed chaos ensues.
Evelyn Miller’s Viola is gentle and captivating. Disguised as a boy, she works for Duke Orsino (a stoic Raphael Bushay), with whom she falls in love. Orsino is in love with Olivia and sends Viola to court her for him, but of course, Olivia falls for Viola instead…
The tale’s mischief makers - Maria, Toby, Feste, Malvolio and Andrew - are each a joy to behold. As sassy Maria (Anita Reynolds) reveals her crafty plan to fool snooty Malvolio, we are all enthralled. Poor Malvolio’s cross-garter-wearing comeuppance is irresistibly funnily, thanks mostly to Richard Cant’s brilliant performance.
The cruelty is unsettling, but that is what Shakespeare is so good at – combining comedy with sadness and cruelty with humour in a captivating cocktail that depicts the best and worst bits of humanity.
Matthew Spencer is a witty and terrifically funny Andrew Aguecheek, tripping on and off stage in a floppy blonde toupée, and I don’t ever want to see another production of Twelfth Night in which Toby Belcher, played marvellously by Michael Matus, isn’t in drag. Spencer and Matus are a powerhouse of a comedy double act – I could have watched their riotous partying all night.
Rich Lakos
But Anna Francolini’s Olivia stole the show for me with her impeccable timing and wonderful combination of sass, goofiness and touching vulnerability.
Apart from a bit of dodgy singing from Feste (an otherwise slick Julie Legrand), everything comes together in this terrific production, from Ryan Dawson Laight’s eye-popping costume design to Aideen Malone’s clever lighting, which comes into its own as the London sunsets.
It’s one of those rare Shakespeares where the company are so skilled and well-directed that The Bard’s complex language seems natural and, therefore, relatively effortless to understand. The plot becomes easier to follow, too, with a running time of nearly 2.5 hours, making the show a genuine pleasure to be immersed in.
In the end, Viola’s long-lost brother Sebastian arrives, and a series of happy unions unfold. It’s an apt ending for Owen Horsley’s stylish production, a charming and joyful celebration of love in all its forms.
Until June 8 at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, Inner Cir, London NW1 4NU. Tickets £15-£65. Most suitable for 12+. Book online at openairtheatre.com
