Veni Vidi Scripsi

Last night, cat9 and I went to see the Actors' Shakespeare production of Twelfth Night. It was fantastic. If you're in Boston and you like Shakespeare you should see it. Even if you just like comedy you should consider seeing it.

I had heard good things about Actors' Shakespeare before, but never seen a production. And, although I knew a number of bits and pieces fro it, I had never actually seen a production of Twelfth Night. So it is difficult for me to measure the quality of this production against others either by this troupe or of this play. However, this was a damned good show.

There were no weak actors; I tried to pick a few to highlight as especially great, but the I quickly encompassed most of the cast. All of them acted the hell out of their material. They strongly embraced the musicality of the play, and the physicality, including some very nice violence. The staging was fairly simple, with a few quirky bits that they made full use of. The costuming was modern, and had a couple of nice subtleties to it.

They handled the twins in what I think is an unusual way, that initially confused me a little, but which actually worked out great. And although I believe it can be difficult to make Toby Belch likable, or the tricks they play on Malvolio more funny than tragic, all of those parts were hilarious in this production.

I think you'll like it.