Twelfth Night

Review by Scott Welch, NODA Representative – NODA East District 9
Performed at Thalian Hall on 27th October 2023 at 7:30pm
Director – Darren Barsby
Choreographer– Ashleigh Bassett
Musical Director – David Meek

First, I want to say congratulations to Thalian Theatre Company for taking on a show in “Twelfth Night” the musical that has never been performed by an amateur society and with music that is unfamiliar that can make it difficult to sell, but I believe ticket sales did pick up, as they should! It was lovely to hear a score, I have never heard before, it is a lovely score, and one I would highly recommend.
David Meeks the musical director handled the score well, band was impressive and with new songs it makes it harder.
Choreography by Ashleigh Bassett was simple but effective, it is always hard to make sure everyone can be seen and not masked, great efforts were made to make sure this did not happen, however from my vantage point unfortunately some members of the cast were masked in larger numbers.
It was clear that some members of the cast had performed Shakespearean dialogue before, but even the cast members who had never performed Shakespeare before made sure the dialogue was clear and diction was good, it is clear this had been rehearsed.
Viola/Cesario (Emma Gilby), Countess Olivia (Amy Knowles) and Duke Orsino (Carl Robinson) played the love triangle to the central story well, all handled the dialogue well especially as it was the first time all three had attempted Shakespeare before.
MJ Scott played Feste, she had one of the standout moments from the show, “Is it not Love?” is a beautiful song and it was sung beautifully, the simple staging of the number made the number even more effective.
The comic trio of Sir Toby (Philip Gray), Sir Andrew (Vincent Clemmens) and Fabian (Jenny Lewin) were funny, and they had a good relationship that came across on stage, particularly in the number “You’re the worst”.
Harrison Huntley (Antonio) took on a challenge in his first ever theatrical production not only in a principal role but, the challenge of Shakespeare, he handled it well. Alex Ryde took on the role of Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, he played the role well, lovely vocals. I understand the importance of the wig, it is however a shame it was ill-fitting and covered his face on occasions.
Clive Dancey gave a superb performance as Malvalio. His diction was great his song in Act 2 “Greatness” was fantastic and a triumph in how to tell a story through a song, well done!
The set was effective, I thought the painting of across the back of the stage was beautiful and very apt. I also thought that the projections on the sides were a very clever idea, for anybody who is not aware of the story it gave audience members an immediate understanding of the characters in the scenes. I liked the minimal set, it meant the audience could concentrate on the dialogue and songs rather than the set, it also left the stage open for the performers.
Thank you to the Thalian Theatre Company, especially to Darren for the hospitality on the evening, and I look forward to coming back.

Scott Welch
NODA Representative – NODA East District 9