Design by Katie Lias
Lighting Design by Tom White
Sound Design by David Gregory
Premiered at The Watermill on the 6th April 2017
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.
This production is reimagined in the 1920s where prohibition is rife and Europe is still reeling in the wake of war.
Fuelled by a scintillating selection of energetic jazz music, the ensemble who brought last year’s epic Romeo + Juliet to life reunite 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.
★★★★★ London Theatre
★★★★ Broadway World
★★★★ WhatsOnStage
★★★★ Reviews Hub