Love the one you’re with
Timbits, Trek and tunes collide in Twelfth Night
REVIEW
TWELFTH NIGHT
Shakespeare in the Park
Runs until July 28
The Banff Centre
July 30 to August 4
Prince’s Island Park
Shakespeare in the Park (SITP) is about experiencing the Bard in a relaxed setting, braving the elements, peeling away the intimidation of the language and about experimentation.But mostly it’s about fun. And that’s a lesson Marc Bellamy, director of Mount Royal College’s summer production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, has fully absorbed.
Taking his cue from Baz Luhrmann’s filmed version of Romeo and Juliet, Bellamy has thrust Twelfth Night into the here and now. Popular and familiar love songs underscore every bumbling error or ill-conceived machination of the lovers’ various courtships. In the hands of Feste the Fool (Allison Nelson), the Billboard chart becomes a tool to torment the arrogant Malvolio, and "Love the One You’re With" brings all the denizens of Illyria together in a final, joyous song-and-dance sequence that would make even Drew Carey proud.
Pop songs aren’t the only bits of popular culture to find their way onstage. The eclectic set dressings and costumes call to mind a hodgepodge of charmingly cheesy pop moments. Orsino’s (Nathan Pronyshyn) bedchamber looks like something straight out of the original Star Trek, Fabian’s (Janelle Funk) sassy outfit and knee-high white boots would suit any of the early Bond girls, and Malvolio’s codpiece, yellow tights and cross-gartered legs scream that "life is a Cabaret, good chum."
And just in case these popular references are a little too obscure Bellamy has thrown in a couple Canadian references to ensure there are laughs. Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Ague (Evan Rothery) wander around the set drinking bottomless cans of Big Rock Kold, and a pair of Illyrian cops approach Malvolio’s cell with a box of Timbits and cups of Tim Hortons coffee. Show a dog a bone and he’ll shake a paw, show a Canadian Timbits and he’ll laugh – Bellamy’s choices are unabashedly fun.
Nowhere is Bellamy’s focus on fun better represented, however, than in his choice of leading ladies and character actors. Breanne Feigel brings pure joy and randiness to Olivia, Gemma Smith is all loveable naiveté as the cross-dressing Viola, while Trevor Leigh and Wes Tritter are positively vibrant as the oil-and-water enemies Malvolio and Belch.
If you’re looking for Stratford – for classic Shakespeare – head to Ontario. But if you’re looking for mistaken identities, drunken buffoons, cheesy love songs and joyful performances amid thunder, lightning and surprise hailstorms, head to Prince’s Island Park for the fun of Twelfth Night. You’ll be glad you did. |
