The set was distressed and gray with a skater park-like half-pipe that was used with great energy. The music by Rosie Langabeer and performed by a motley Balkan Band became a character in itself. Sometimes the band existed as a band for a character to listen to. Other times the band was in cahoots with a character, listening to his cues and acting accordingly.
The basic premise of Twelfth Night is such:
Girl washes up on beach, disguises herself as boy. Girl, disguised as boy, falls in love with Duke. Woos lady on behalf of Duke. Lady falls in love with girl-disguised-as-boy. Longing ensues. As does the imbibing of enormous quantities of alcohol, plus outrageously melodramatic breakdowns to “the saddest music in the world.”
And then her brother shows up, adding to the madness.
My two favorite actors in this show were Dito van Reigersberg as the Duke and James Sugg as Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's drunken uncle. The play opens with a depressed Duke calling for music to ease his soul. Van Reigersberg's entrance was protracted and hilarious and took 'depression hurts' to a new level. His physical embodiment of the Duke's emotions was terrific.Sugg's Toby was reminiscent of an aging British rock star, all colorful suits, crazy hair, and a kicked out leg that constantly tapped to some beat only he could hear. Toby has the most fun with the band, guiding them through his malicious prank like a mad band leader.
My brother came to the show with me and explained afterward that he was surprised in a good way by the casting. Typically Sir Toby is cast as a large man. (I didn't pick up his last name during the show so wasn't expecting that.) And the fool Feste is typically slender and lean - a Harlequin known for his physical agility.
Pig Iron reversed these types to great success. Toby is a sexy, crazy man who inspires a party. And Feste is a monkish sort, always one step ahead of everyone else.
When I got home I looked up Twelfth Night because I wasn't sure how the title related to the plot. I saw Shakespeare in Love so know that Queen Judi Dench asked for the play to be performed on Twelfth Night but it had to be more than that.
Thanks to Wikipedia I learned that the play was written for Twelfth Night entertainment. In Shakespeare's time Twelfth Night had changed from a Catholic holiday to a day of festivities and debauchery - servants dressed up as their masters, man as women, etc. This mood of revelry and reversals inspired the plot, and the title lets the audience know good times are coming.
Pig Iron certainly played up the revelry. An exciting, insane moment was when Toby gets married. A party ensues on stage.
This is a version of Twelfth Night, or What You Will not to be missed. It is running the length of the festival at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Go, go, go!
All the show information can be found here.
Learn more about Pig Iron Theatre Company here.
