Twelfth Night

Reimagined in the 1920s where prohibition is rife and Europe is still reeling in the wake of war, this brand new production bursts to life.

Fuelled by a scintillating selection of energetic jazz music, an outstanding new ensemble of actors come together to create a dizzying and beautiful version of Shakespeare’s perfect play. The radical spirit of Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong is fused with an innovative approach to staging and actor-musicianship to tell this timeless story.

Bohemian, outlandish, isolated: Illyria is a land where everyone has lost something and they will use any means to survive. Viola is washed ashore, compelled to survive in a mysterious ethereal land. She disguises herself as Cesario to serve the solitary Duke Orsino. What follows is a tale of mistaken identities, seduction and transformation, leading to a complex love triangle and the potential destruction of all propriety.

The Watermill Theatre has become known around the world for its bold, ensemble driven approach to presenting Shakespeare. Previous productions have toured internationally from Buenos Aries to Singapore, New York to China and from Bangladesh to Japan. In its fiftieth anniversary year, The Watermill Theatre celebrate this rich history by presenting a brand new production of a play that balances comedy, romance and tragedy in equal measure.