Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, or What you Will Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a delightful story of displaced twins, misplaced affections, pompous affectations, and love. Follow Viola after her shipwreck as she tries to find her new place in the world, disguised as a young man. The Count Orsino thinks he is in love with the Countess Olivia, but is he really just in love with love? The steward Malvolio is also in love with Olivia but she is way out of his league, then Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola whom she thinks is a boy. Drunken Uncle Toby and lady-in-waiting Maria play a spiteful trick on the overbearing Malvolio, one that ends up making us uncomfortable, and the foolish Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who was "adored once, too," is humiliated again and again. For all its comedy, there is potential tragedy; the dark moments and threats of danger and death that are lying just beneath the surface act as a counterpoint to the expectations of a perfectly happy ending.