TWELFTH NIGHT Comes to the Masque Theatre

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is at last going to hit the stage at the Masque Theatre this July. Performances run 5-15 July.

Twelfth Night is one of the bard's classic comedies, featuring a cross-dressing love triangle, a wise-cracking fool, drunken shenanigans and a pair of yellow cross-gartered stockings. Director Barbara Basel is playing into the theme of freedom and chaos from the traditional festival of the twelfth night of Christmas by setting this production in 1920s Germany and the opulent Weimar Republic. Instead of classic palaces, audiences will get cabaret nightclubs and all the decadence that goes with them.

We say that Twelfth Night is hitting the stage "at last" because this production has been three years in the making. Director Barbara Basel explains, "During the early months of 2020, I was working on this play with a talented and enthusiastic cast, and we had reached the stage of 'books down' when we were thrust into a complete shutdown of all social gatherings due to the extreme COVID-19 lockdown restrictions imposed on South Africa. While we continued to hold rehearsals via Zoom for a while, the fact that theatre is a very physical activity, plus the knowledge that it would be a long time before we could perform on a stage to a live audience, we all reluctantly agreed to put the production 'on ice'. Fortunately, however, that 'icy period' has now melted, and we are back into rehearsals with an equally enthusiastic cast."

The cast for 2023 sees a few faces returning, including Wayne Ronne as Duke Orsino, Tami Schrire as Lady Olivia, Hannah Molyneux as Feste the fool, and Kathryn Griffiths as Maria. All four actors are incredibly happy to be back at it with Twelfth Night and hope to make it to the stage this time!

For those who are keen to get your tickets already, there is an Early Bird special running until 15 May. Use the code 12NEB when booking on Quicket and get 15% off your tickets for any performance.

Join in at the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg 5-15 July for some great laughs with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.