Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Twelfth Night Fever
More The Merrier
Genre: Comedy, Musical Theatre, Theatre
Venue: theSpace Triplex
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Get your boogie boots on and hit the dancefloor for this interesting take on Shakespeare’s most gender-bending comedy, Twelfth Night only this time with a bit of added Fever. The cleverly adapted script stays true to the plot mixing original text with modern day asides in a seventy minute theatrical extravaganza.
Review
If music be the food of love, get your boogie boots on and hit the dancefloor for an interesting take on Shakespeare’s most gender-bending comedy, Twelfth Night only with time with a bit of added Fever.
Based loosely around a disco soundtrack, this youth theatre version featured a twenty (or so) strong, neurodiversity led, all-male cast, lending it real 16th century Shakespearean authenticity with a 21st century twist. The cleverly adapted script stayed true to the plot (why not, the Bard knew how to write a decent one) and the original text whilst throwing in modern day asides in a seventy minute, exquisitely costumed theatrical extravaganza.
Complementing the text was an interesting selection of classic disco numbers including Night Fever, Rock The Boat, I Feel Love and Boogie Wonderland, culminating in a pulsating finale medley incorporating It’s Rainin’ Men, Daddy Cool and We Are Family.
The whole piece has a warm, accessible feel to it, the audience being encouraged to join in with the songs they knew and, heavens above, they even had folks up on stage doing a conga at one point, a throwback to the Bard’s beginnings when audience participation was a given.
There’s clearly been a lot of thought put into staging the show, particularly given the large cast, the frequent scene changes and the need to get a lot of people on and off the floor quickly given the number of ensemble pieces. It looked to be a real team effort, too, with cast members clearly enjoying playing to an engaged audience that was itself clearly having a ball.
There were some lovely performances to admire as well. Sir Toby Belch was, well, appropriately belchy. His sidekick and fellow rabble-rouser, the impressive Sir Andrew Aguecheek, managed the tricky task of playing “drunk” whilst remaining crystal clear in delivery of his lines. The Fool, resplendent in a joyfully coloured costume, moved with alacrity and was splendidly jesterish. Sister/brother Viola and Sebastian were also well cast, physically similar and identically costumed, which might sound a minor point but it really helped explain yet another of Shakespeare’s “cases of mistaken identity” as the denouement gathered pace. Throw in an extremely convincing “Elvis Priestly” and you can see the strength of the ensemble.
But the show was somewhat stolen by an alarmingly convincing Olivia and a truly bravura performance from Malvolio. Olivia steered things along nicely with a well judged characterisation of the part, together with almost perfect enunciation. Malvolio visibly grew into his role as the show progressed, excellent movement and mannerisms, a powerful stage presence and a “bring the house down” rendition of “Do You Think I’m Sexy” in that iconic scene where he’s tricked by Maria, Olivia’s maid, into appearing before her mistress in bright yellow cross garters. Priceless.
With the numbers involved and the many comings and goings, there was the odd, minor hiccup but it’s easier to see through these and just enjoy what worked, which was pretty much all of it. That’s the beauty of the Fringe – in this case it’s facilitated a bunch of engaging young people getting onto a stage, telling a story with considerable aplomb and, most importantly, having fun doing so.
And watching people have fun is infectious, so why not try and make one of their two remaining performances and join what felt like one great big disco party.
