Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

Written by William Shakespeare
Performed in English
1986–1987

Brother and sister, Sebastian and Viola, who are very close and look a great deal alike, are shipwrecked separately in Illyria, both thinking the other dead.

On finding herself without means in a foreign country Viola dresses as her brother and adopts the name Cesario, becoming the man-servant and confidante to the Count Orsino.

She is sent to deliver a message of love to Lady Olivia, who instead falls in love not with the master but the messenger, who in turn is beginning to harbour feelings for her employer, Orsino.

Shakespeare’s tale of unrequited love, mistaken identity and comic wordplay is one of the best-loved of his comedies.

Produced by Cheek by Jowl. The first performance of Twelfth Night was held at the Liverpool Playhouse on 25th July 1986.

“An epiphany… each relationship contains a far wider spectrum of emotion than one had ever imagined … the tenderness of the love-scenes errupts into ferocity.”
Sunday Telegraph

Cast and creative team

Cast

Name	Character
Patricia Kerrigan	Viola
David Morrissey	Sebastian
Patrick Romer	Antonio
Keith Bartlett	Sea Captain/Sir Toby Belch
Timothy Walker	Orsino
Alex Starr	Curio
Anne White	Olivia
Hugh Ross	Malvolio
Aden Gillett	Valentino
Melinda McGraw	Maria
Stephen Simms	Feste

Creative Team

Role	Name
Director	Declan Donnellan
Designer	Nick Ormerod
Musical Director/Composer	Joanna MacGregor
Choreographer	Sara Van Beers
Stage Manager/Lighting Designer	Alex Starr
Mary Askham	Assistant Stage Manager
Louise Page	Costume Supervisor

Previous performances

Previous Performances

Date	Location
22–23 May 1987	Amiens, Maison de la Culture, France
19–20 May 1987	Bourges, Maison de la Culture, France
16–17 May 1987	Munich, Gasteif Kulturzent, Germany
12 May 1987	Wuerburg, Stadttheatre, Germany
9 May 1987	Tampere, Theatre Hallitus, Finland
4–6 May 1987	Helsinki, National Theatre, Finland
29 April–3 May 1987	Oslo, Norske Teatret, Norway
24–26 April 1987	Copenhagen, Ostre Gasvoerk, Denmark
3 April 1987	Plovdiv, House of Culture, Bulgaria
31 March–1 April 1987	Sofia, Christo Sarafov Institute, Bulgaria
26–28 March 1987	Ankara, Kucuk Theatre, Turkey
23–25 March 1987	Istanbul, Venus Theatre, Turkey
12–15 February 1987	Stratford-upon-Avon, Swan Theatre, UK
12 January–6 February 1987	London, Donmar Warehouse, UK
19 December 1986	Shewsbury, Ashton Theatre, UK
17 December 1986	Kidderminster, Rose Theatre, UK
11–12 December 1986	Carlisle, Stanwix Art Theatre, UK
8–9 December 1986	Luton, Library Theatre, UK
1–4 December 1986	Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal, UK
26 November 1986	Milton Keynes, Woughton Centre, UK
24–25 November 1986	Tewkesbury, Roses Theatre, UK
20 November 1986	Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK
11 November 1986	Stamford, Arts Centre, UK
3–4 November 1986	Hull, Spring Street Theatre, UK
31 October 1986	Hereford, New Theatre, UK
29 October 1986	Chipping Norton, The Theatre, UK
22 October 1986	Brighton, Gardner Centre, UK
20–21 October 1986	Ipswich, Wolsey Theatre, UK
16–17 October 1986	Bracknell, Wilde Theatre, UK
10 October 1986	Oundle, Stahl Theatre, UK
29–2 September 1986	Dublin, Mansion House, Ireland
22–25 September 1986	Birmingham, Midlands Arts Centre, UK
18–20 September 1986	Epsom, Epsom Playhouse, UK
5–6 September 1986	Boston, Blackfriars Arts Centre, UK
25–27 August 1986	Taormina, Villa Communale, Italy
29 July–1 August 1986	Buxton, Buxton Octagon, UK
25–27 July 1986	Liverpool, Liverpool Playhouse, UK
1 January–9 April 1987	Warsaw, Theatre Stodola, Poland
More	See also – Cheek by Jowl’s 2003–2018 production of Twelfth Night

Awards and reviews

Awards

Olivier Award – Director of the Year for Declan Donnellan
1987 – For The Cid, Twelfth Night and Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse

Time Out Readers’ Award
1987 – Hugh Ross – Twelfth Night

Laurence Olivier Award nomination
1987 – Comedy of the Year – Twelfth Night

Drama Magazine – Best Director for Declan Donnellan
1987 – Declan Donnellan for Twelfth Night

Reviews

“Cheek by Jowl’s modern dress production of Twelfth Night demonstrates what miracles a truly dedicated touring company can achieve with the slenderest of resources…An epiphany…each relationship contains a far wider spectrum of emotion than one had ever imagined…the tenderness of the love-scenes errupts into ferocity. No lover of Shakespeare in particular or of the theatre should miss this lovely treat.”
Francis King, Sunday Telegraph