Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Dunedin Sound infused University of Otago in the 1980s – can they come together in a coherent and satisfying whole?

At the Globe, under Brent Caldwell’s inspired and expert direction, the answer is a triumphant “yes”.

Duke Orsino becomes the university’s vice-chancellor, Malvolio is the proctor, Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aigucheek are either hopeless students or aimless hangers-on (it doesn’t matter) and everyone else just seems to fit in.

Sofie Walvaert’s revolving stage has migrated from the Playhouse and allows quick and adaptable scene changes, and props include cluttered shelves and ’80s posters, including those of well-known Dunedin Sound bands.

Costumes, from the VC’s natty suits to Feste’s Sextet outfit and Malvolio’s yellow leg warmers (a brilliant substitute for cross-gartered stockings), have been co-ordinated by Rosemary Manjunath and add to visual complexity.

Dunedin Sound musicians have given permission for their work to be used in the show, and transitions and balance are skilfully handled by musical director Sam Meikle as part of a six-person live band playing music that includes Flying Nun classics.

The production is dedicated to Chills lead singer Martin Phillips, who died earlier this year….

For the remainder of this review, published in the Otago Daily Times, please see: https://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/theatre/globe’s-exuberant-production-special-treat

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

For this new production of Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre, director Brent Caldwell has transposed the play to 1980s Dunedin, marrying three distinctive aspects. The first is the University and its culture of students and academics. The second is the music of the ‘Dunedin Sound’ bands, such as The Clean, The Chills, and The Verlaines. And the third is the Globe Theatre itself, with its long tradition of staging an annual Shakespeare production. In doing so, he draws together three of Dunedin’s longstanding communities to create a celebration of our town.

Usually considered the best of Shakespeare’s mature comedies, the story follows the adventures of Viola, a young noblewoman who is shipwrecked in foreign Illyria, who opts to cross-dress as a servant boy to Duke Orsino to earn her keep. Duke Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, who reciprocates none of his affections, so he sends the cross-dressed Viola (now going by the name of Cesario) to act as a go-between to win her over. Lady Olivia falls in love with “servant boy” Cesario/Viola as Cesario/Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino, thus making the comic ‘A’ plot of the story. Meanwhile, members of Lady Olivia’s household become embroiled in their own entanglements. After the pompous butler Malvolio foils one party too many, friends Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, and later Feste, prank the butler by forging a love letter from Olivia. Malvolio humiliates himself by trying to woo her, which then leads to his comic consequences. That’s the ‘B’ plot. Thirdly, Viola has an identical twin brother Sebastian who was also shipwrecked in the storm but presumed dead. Sebastian teams up with local pirate Antonio, who helps him reach Illyria, where confusion and comedy result from mistaken identities between Sebastian and Cesario/Viola. That is the ‘C’ plot.

In this production, Duke Orsino is the chancellor of Otago University. Viola cross-dresses as a goth-inspired Dunedin rocker with leather jacket, black eyeliner, and shaggy mop haircut, looking like something that slid off an album cover from The Cure. (Which is exactly the look her twin brother Sebastian sports too.) I wasn’t certain how Lady Olivia fit into this world but I’m going to assume she was a Dunedin landlord; and Sir Andrew and Sir Toby were Uni students squatting in her flat. Maria was Olivia’s flat maintenance lady and Malvolio was the university proctor. Feste was a clown, complete with yellow clown suit and white face makeup, an evocation of the ‘classic’ style of the University Capping Show’s Sextet costumes. It was a great choice of concept that fit well with the text and made the show feel distinctive, relevant, and accessible.

There didn’t seem to be much chemistry between the various sets of lovers – but that might be explained by an unusual incident that I will discuss below.  A pompous university chancellor employing a leather jacket-wearing goth-rocker to deliver love notes to a landlady seemed to stretch credulity, but possibly this problem is inherent in the text. The audience may not have followed every plot point clearly (a common complaint with Shakespeare) but they certainly understood the types and the situations they were seeing.

The Dunedin setting established a frame that allowed Caldwell to harness the house band, led by Sam Meikle, to strong effect. Already a play knee-deep in allusions to music (“If music be the food of love, play on!”), playing covers of hits like ‘Pink Frost’ and ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’ during the action was a nostalgic treat that engendered a sense of pride in our town. It allowed dramatic moments to be explored more fully and, at certain points, more deeply. The band was competent and stylish, leaning into the songs more as the play progressed. Dramaturgically, their strongest moments were the student-flat party sequence, which proctor Malvolio calls to a grinding halt, and Malvolio’s later asylum sequence. During the former sequence, I wanted Malvolio to interrupt and stop the party song as it played: then the audience would have felt as angry to Malvolio as the other characters did. The second half of the show didn’t feature as many songs, and I found myself missing them.

This production featured a strong, committed, and clearly well-prepared cast. The audience clearly latched on to Sir Toby (Josh Black) and Sir Andrew’s (Daniel Cromar) playful chemistry, where their clownish behaviour as students in a shambolic flat delighted. Weaving in with their shenanigans was flatmate/ handywoman/romantic interest Maria (Sofie Welvaert). They pulled a lot of laughs and were particularly alive in their performances, setting up some of the best laughs of the evening. 

Lady Olivia (Maegan Stedman-Ashford) got a lot of juice out of depicting her varying romantic yearnings for Cesario/Viola. She played with dexterity and skill, switching between haughty aloofness and lovesick giddiness with colour and clarity. Duke Orsino (Thomas Makinson) captured the oblivious pomp and stuffiness of his role, clearly relishing the interpretation. 

Sebastian (Samuel Kelly) was plucky, slick, and feisty. He was fun to watch, especially as the later scenes developed. Malvolio (Don Townsend) made the most of his opportunity to play the villain. The scene where he rehearsed lording it over his compatriots was nauseatingly amusing. Feste (Aimee Freeman) went from strength to strength in the show, gaining momentum as it continued, with a particularly compelling scene alongside Malvolio in prison. This is one of the few productions I’ve seen where the situational comedy of Feste masquerading as a doddery priest worked in performance. I didn’t quite follow why Feste was so vehement with Malvolio in her final line about revenge. Perhaps some unspoken backstory from when before the play began?

The strong cast continued to the auxiliary roles. Nic Turner and Tomuri Spicer found lots of opportunities to colour their parts with texture and details. Even Declan Viljoen and Caleb Collier found memorable touches for their supporting moments. We felt we were in capable hands all the way through.

The set made the most of the Globe’s limited space, using a revolving stage to offer a range of locations (thanks again to Welvaert, DIY extraordinaire), and utilizing every entrance, exit, aisle, nook, and cranny the house could seem to muster. Cody McRae’s lighting was clear and varied, supporting the action well and becoming rock lighting at the appropriate band moments. There was lots of care in the small details with props, like the self-sealing envelope letter from the ‘80s, and period boom boxes and vinyl, showing the level of commitment to supporting the production’s time period.

A cat was thrown amongst the pigeons when, at the beginning of second half last night, it was announced that the actor playing Viola (Sacha McConnon) had become sick and had to leave the theatre.* The director himself stepped in to play the role with script in hand. At this point, the play took on a more anarchic and unhinged tone – perfect for the DIY Dunedin setting – which delighted the audience and had us sitting forward in our seats. There was an electric atmosphere as the cast scrambled to adapt. The biggest laughs of the evening came from the new (unintentional) levels of comedy created by the director’s different sex, age, and status as he played the much younger role. The entire cast pulled together to make it work. The commitment and cohesiveness of the cast, band, and crew, coupled with their clear work ethic and sound preparation made this a rare and unexpected live theatre experience. Tremendous goodwill and generosity were reciprocated from stage and seats.

The show ended on a high, giving a sense of satisfying fun. The show was a celebration of our local culture, welcoming all-comers, that nailed the point of community theatre. It was rough and ready. A great night out.

• Unavoidable circumstances dictated that this show was reviewed on the second night, rather than the first, and it was at this second performance that the unexpected cast swap occurred.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer