I have had the change to visit Atlanta’s Shakespeare Taven known for its plays and acting among their work around Shakespeare. Shakespeare Taven is located within the heart of Atlanta. The area has food and drinks for purchase before the play begins. But do come early if you would like the best seats! The play that I watched was Twelfth Night which is a comedic play written by Shakespeare. The play is known as a comedy, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as " The genre of drama or literature which consists of comedies; comedies considered as a class. Later also: the style or genre of entertainment consisting of jokes, comedy sketches, etc., and intended to make an audience laugh". Yet what one finds comedic is different from when Shakespeare wrote this play.
Now, a comedy is no longer just wordplay or ending with marriage but includes more taunting jokes and entertaining skits. As people's humor changes, one must find ways to illustrate the play as a comedy in the way that people view comedy now. For comedy is a mirror, so the director must think about what they can add or enhance for the audience to laugh reflecting on themselves. The Shakespeare Tavern presented the production of the Twelfth Night and compared it to the text; some additions enhanced the story using humor and engaged the audience. Nevertheless, among the directorial choices for Malvolio sparked confusion about the original character.
From Page to Play
Throughout the play, the language is very similar to the original text. The only difference between the original revolved around a couple of words, such as “man” after some of Sir Toby's parts or “ shut up” when Viola returned to get the ring she threw, and many moments where the actors would point at the audience, making jokes. Adding these small details created the play to be more engaging. Now, compared to someone who has read and understood the play, it would be easier to catch those additions, but to another who is watching this play for pure enjoyment, they found these additions amusing. It allowed people who have never read the play to understand it better, even if they might not have understood the language or wordplay. For the part where Malvolio reads the letter discussing these my lady C's and U's, those who have not read the play may not laugh at the reference, but the director added shocking and giggling movements by the actors to showcase that the statement presents a dirty joke. Feste adding different songs that more people would know was a nice touch to connect with the audience.
Certain directorial choices provided more humorous additions illustrated the characters nicely, for example, when Feste plays music for Sir Toby and Knight Andrew, and they begin to dance. This moment was adapted to be more modern by adding those dances, but at the same time, it kept the characteristics of liveliness that Sir Toby and Knight Andrew show in the text. These characters are always drinking and having a good time, for in the text, Sir Toby states, “Doust tho think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” (11.3.106) towards Malvolio when he tries to stop their fun antics.
The only thing that the director did that confused the play was the character of Malvolio. Coming from the play, Malvolio is viewed as a puritan, boring, egoistic man. Even stated by the other characters of the play, an overweening rogue” (2.5.27) and “some kind of Puritan” (2.3.136). The character does not even understand Feste's foolishness and believes himself to be a man of worthiness. Even by the usage of his name meaning “mal (bad, or ill-advised) and voglio (want, or desire)” ( Roberts ). He demonstrated a pompous vanity and sobriety that tied into certain traits of Puritanism, which the audience knew of while watching the play. In this case, it correlated with the audience and the time.
Malvolio, in the production, took a different approach. He was loud and boastful, but he also kept his admiration of Olivia. If anything, he was an amusing character with their facial expressions, adding like “mmhs” and seductive moments when he tried to woe Olivia with his graters. The audience adored him. They found him amusing. The director, I think, took the approach of seeing Malvolio bullied. They showcased him as a strict yet caring man who desired Olivia, and the others played a cruel game on him for amusement.
At the play's end, Olivia even hugged him, which could mean his happy ending. In the original, there was no hug, nor was the comedic villain invited to the happily ever after. While one is reading the play, they illustrate the character in their head whilst reading. The way Malvolio talks is of a strict, monotoned, uptight man, which made sense when written initially. The director decided to make their version of Malvolio more amusing and to feel remorse for him. The director took” [The] Malvolio of this comedy [to] dependent on the anticipated audience of the adaptation, and the varying degrees” (Roberts).
Perhaps everyone in the play had a happy ending because it would be undesired for a character that the audience loves not to have a happy ending. It would make the audience dislike the play, claiming that the character didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
The director made a choice based on how they took the play but also considered the audience. The choice did alter the tone and approach of Malvolio in the text, but the play did keep a sense of uptightness of Malvolio. Overall, the play did a good job from “ play” to “page” by adding humorous notes to keep the audience engaged, even those who have not read the play. It was a absolutely outstanding performance along with a good time.
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