Michael Hurst Now: Twelfth Night (2006)

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Twelfth Night

Presented by the Auckland Theatre Company
Auckland, New Zealand, 13 July-15 August 2006
written by William Shakespeare; directed by Michael Hurst

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TWELFTH NIGHT PHOTO GALLERY

Michael participated in the University of Auckland lecture series and symposium
on Shakespeare and Twelfth Night; click here for info and pictures of these events.

Viola/Cesario	Tandi Wright	Sea Captain	Charlie McDermott
Sebastian	Paolo Rotondo	Valentine	Brian Rankin
Olivia	Jennifer Ward-Lealand	Curio	Ben Kissel
Maria	Jacque Drew	Rachael	Esther Stephens
Malvolio	Paul Barrett	Esther	Rachael Blampied
Sir Toby Belch	George Henare
Sir Andrew Aguecheek	Peter McCauley	Director	Michael Hurst
Orsino	Andrew Laing	Set Design	John Verryt
Feste	Oliver Driver	Lighting Design	David Eversfield
Fabian	Jason Smith	Costume Design	Elizabeth Whiting
Antonio	Charlie McDermott	Composer/Music Director	Jason Smith

Click the photo below to go to our Twelfth Night photo gallery.

Director's Notes

Twelfth Night is Shakespeare's only play with a subtitle--"What You Will". Will is "volition". The heroine's name is Viola, whose "will" drives the play. The self-loving opposite of Viola is Malvolio ("bad will") and her balance in love, the woman who is unable to move forward because her true love is mired in grief, is Olivia--volition or "will" confused and slightly jumbled (Olivia is almost an anagram of Viola). "Will" is also an Elizabethan synonym for sexual desire and, of course, an abbreviation of William.

Viola herself is unable to move forward until her "other half", the supposedly drowned identical twin Sebastian is restored to her. Looked at in terms of the psyche, Viola subverts the course of "will" by denying her female side and overpowering it with a male disguise. She throws out her balance as well as the balance of the play, and neither can be brought under control until she herself is reintegrated as a whole person. This of course happens when Sebastian is revealed as having survived the shipwreck, and only at this point, the very end of the play, can everyone's true "will" be put back on line. Everyone has a happy ending except for Malvolio (though one might argue that Feste the fool is never happy) and it is this darkness at the edges of things which makes the play stand out as a kind of lozenge of golden, romantic light in the shadows of the mundane.

All this, and we haven't really got past the title!

Twelfth Night is a beautiful, emotional, intellectual and extremely funny play, justly regarded as one of Shakespeare's greatest. It is full of secrets, connections and resonances that often operate on a level below consciousness. It is sublime.

-Michael Hurst

Michal Hurst, director

YEAR-END KUDOS FOR TWELFTH NIGHT

Listener: "For best production for the year, nothing could beat the Auckland Theatre Company’s Twelfth Night, Michael Hurst’s playful and dazzling take on Shakespeare’s giddy, lovestruck comedy. Setting it in the 1950s on a tropical island inhabited by tipsy colonial misfits and dreamers was a stroke of brilliance, and all aspects of the highly imaginative production, from John Verryt’s exquisite beach design and David Eversfield’s painterly lighting to the terrific cast, were perfect. It was a gorgeous, sensual show where Shakespeare’s text was utterly comprehensible – a rare feat even in professional theatre . . . A fantastic and unforgettable show."

New Zealand Herald: "Michael Hurst's anarchic take on Twelfth Night was the perfect antidote for the mid-winter blues. Fully professional presentations of Shakespeare are becoming rare and this production confirmed the importance of such shows - not only for the pleasure they bring to audiences but also for the challenges they provide our leading actors."

Metro: "Shakespeare's most delicious comedy combined a host of our finest thespians, from George Henare to Tandi Wright and Oliver Driver, under Hurst's sure eye with the sunniest and funniest production of the year."

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Reviews and Articles on Twelfth Night

Listener review: "Michael Hurst's dazzling Twelfth Night perfectly captures the giddy madness of romantic yearning. . . . This is a production as clear and sparkling as its azure ocean." . . . "The imagination and exuberance of Hurst's production bring many moments of pure magic and the performances are uniformly excellent, with wonderful textual clarity and rich characterisations."

NBR Review: "Theatrical genius Michael Hurst has set the play in the 1950s in an expat community somewhere in the Pacific." . . . "Much of the play's appeal is in the delicious word play, which can often be lost if actors merely gabble the words. The cast in this production revel in their ability to express the subtleties of the language with precise acting, timing and expression." . . . "Jennifer Ward Lealand is stunning as the Grace Kelly lookalike Olivia . . . "

New Zealand Herald review: "Michael Hurst's scintillating production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night transports us to a sun-drenched beach in a world of music, drink, romance and madness - the perfect antidote for mid-winter blues." " . . . joyous mayhem in this superb production."

Review on viewauckland.org.nz: "What really impressed me was the ease with which I understood the play. I didn’t know the storyline and was prepared to struggle a bit with the language. But, thanks to well-tuned direction and very confident delivery, I caught the nuances, the jokes, the subtleties and the poetry of it. A delightfully entertaining show. It’s hats off, again, to director Michael Hurst."

Review on gaynz.com: "If you'd like a winter break at a sunny beach crowded with fun people, Twelfth Night at the Maidment is the place to go. Michael Hurst . . . [has made] it . . . a heady, flavourful treat!"

Sunday Star-Times review: " . . . when done well Shakespeare is sublimely funny, supremely human, qualities this hilarious production achieves seemingly without effort, despite the sweat it must have taken. . . . As the best theatre should, this production leaves us wanting more."

Review on theatrereview.org.nz: "Michael Hurst's interpretation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night or, What You Will, is exquisitely crafted, beautiful, and enormously accessible. The continuous ripples of hearty laughter from the opening night audience, who willingly interacted with the players, is testament to his triumph."

New Zealand Herald (preview): "Organised by Auckland University's English Department, the Shakespeare in Winter lecture series features local and international experts including Hurst, who finds time in the Twelfth Night season to discuss Inventing Shakespeare."

Twelfth Night press release: "Auckland Theatre Company Artistic Director, Colin McColl, is thrilled Michael Hurst is on board to direct for Auckland Theatre Company. 'Because he knows Shakespeare so well--Michael is able to take wonderful lateral leaps of interpretation--to bring us a Twelfth Night which is exotic and familiar, accessible and aching with desire,' says Colin."