I had bought tickets for Twelfth Night at The Globe the day that they went on general sale. I love Twelfth Night. I thought the production of it at the Rose Theatre in York the summer of 2019 was the real gem in the pop-up theatre’s cap. So I was excited to see that it was at the Globe this summer.
After a very, very long time without any live theatre – though I did see some incredible streamed productions – I was itching to go back. I’ve always had a very hit-or-miss relationship with shows at the Globe. One of the best shows I ever saw was 2010’s Bedlam at the Globe. Likewise, I’ve seen some of the most unsatisfying productions there.
Unfortunately, this production goes in the latter camp. It was under-energised, lacklustre and generally sloppy. It’s being marketed as “Americana tinged”. There is a vague costuming nod to some elements of Americana – if Americana is a clumsy bluesy depressed cowboy and Dolly Parton costumes. There’s also some bits of corrugated metal, a jukebox, and a dead deer (why?!) that make up the “Americana” set that are moved in the last Act for absolutely no reason at all.
Globe associate artistic director Sean Holmes is directing his boss, Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry, and perhaps therein lies the problem. There seemed to be no cohesive artistic vision of the show at all. It was a mashup of eras, countries, and influences that served no purpose in propelling the story or delivering a new take with style.
There were dropped lines, missed cues, and painstaking pauses. I will give the company the benefit of the doubt as I attended very early in the run, so hopefully, these will be cleaned up and picked up quickly.
Artistic Director Michelle Terry’s performance was extremely forgettable, though she was one of the few to make herself heard throughout. Nadine Higgin as Sir Toby Belch was a bright spot in the show. She brought energy, swaggering-bravado and scene-stealing comedy to the stage whenever she was on. Victoria Elliott’s Feste and flashes of a really interesting performance but it was not sustained throughout. I’d be curious to see what it was like towards the end of the run.
Unfortunately, in this madcap comedy of mistaken identity, gender-swapping, and falling in love there was very few laughs, little hijinx and almost no chemistry between Orsino, Sebastian, Viola and Olivia.
Tickets for groundlings (they are back!) start at £5. It might not be the best show in town, but that’s a very accessible price! The best gallery seats will set you back £59. You can book here.
Twelfth Night runs till 30 October.
Despite it all, I have an exciting autumn of theatre planned. I have another production at the Globe, Spleandour’s ‘Ubu Roy’, Emma Rice’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, the National’s ‘Ocean at the End of the Lane’, the West End opening of ‘Mouling Rouge’ and Eddie Redmayne in the re-vamp of ‘Cabaret’ to look forward to.
Have you seen any great theatre lately?
