I should start this review with two statements. Firstly, " Twelfth Night" is one of my least favourite Shakespeare plays and I am not a fan of plays at The Gate in Cardiff.
So, why did I come? Well, I thoroughly enjoyed Bare Knuckle Theatre's debut with " A Midsummer Night's Dream" there last year and was intrigued to see what modern touches they would bring to this ancient comedy.
The plus and minusses of this production appeared in the opening speech. "Twelfth Night" famously begins " If music be the food of love play on", allowing director Simon Riordan to utilise his lovely four piece band. Sadly, the poor acoustics of this converted church ensure that any extraneous noise will drown out the words & we duly lost the rest of Orsino's speech.
Like all Shakespearean comedies it is very wordy with quick verbal interplay between characters. With the usual complicated plot involving a shipwreck ,identical twins and a girl masquerading as a boy it is essential the audience can understand the early dialogue or what follows is very confusing. Unfortunately, the problems of the theatre are highlighted when the actors speak quickly or softly. Several performers fell into this trap leading myself and others to check our programmes in the interval to work out who was who and what was happening.
The actors, therefore who took their time and spoke the lyrical verse clearly reaped the rewards. So, step forward, Laurence Patrick ( revelling in his role as the unliked and easily tricked Malvolio), Claire Howey ( extremely convincing in her love for the cross-dressing Viola), Matt Humphries ( in a small role) and that consistent scene-stealer David Parker as Toby Belch.
Bareknuckle Theatre may be a no thrills company but the lack of many props allowed them to rely upon the powers of the imagination to bring this play to life. Audiences like nothing more than good set-pieces and Simon Riordan duly delivered. The climax of " Twelfth Night" is the famous Malvolio appearance in " yellow stockings and cross-gartered", which I have never seen to such great comic effect before, with Laurence Patrick relishing the great line " some have greatness thrust upon them".
Equally fun were the musical numbers where the rather dull Shakespearean songs were replaced by unexpected modern ones by "Outkast", " Queen", "Train" etc. Impressively, they fitted in seamlessly.
Then, with all the lovers happily inter-twinned and the strains of Elbow ringing in our ears we returned to the Cardiff streets happier than when we left it two hours previously. So, despite the problems of The Gate Bareknuckle Theatre still produced an enjoyable experience. I shall return in June to see their take on " Romeo & Juliet".
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