Friday 16 March 2012

The Outing - Twelfth Night

One of our summer traditions (I think I can say it's a tradition now because I've done it both summers I've been in Wellington) is to go and see the Victoria University drama society's annual performance of Summer Shakespeare, held outdoors in the Botanical Gardens.

I have to confess, I'm in no way an avid reader of Shakespeare. In fact, I can count all the Shakespeare plays I've read on 3 fingers. However, I do love watching Shakespeare's plays being performed, as I find it brings them so much to life.

This year they put on Twelfth Night, setting it in the 1920s by the beach. It was absolutely wonderful and I couldn't recommend it enough. It is such a great night out: you bring all your picnic goodies and get comfy while you are entertained. Also, tickets are very reasonably priced ($15). The acting was exceptionally good, with Ross Young most definitely stealing the show as Malvolio. I thought Alice Pearce as Viola was also extremely good, not to mention Todd Dixon as Sir Toby and Andrew Clarke as Sir Andrew, who were both side-achingly funny. Alexis Jackson also gave an extremely steady perfomance as Olivia, and I also liked Andrew Gunn's rendition of Sebastian, although his part was quite small. However, for me the most likeable character was Feste, played by Sam Hallahan. I thought it was extremely clever making the fool the bartender. Brilliant!

Actually, the staging, costumes, and direction were also amazing, and really allowed the actors to shine. Anyway, enough of my prattle. Time for photos!



Picnic selection: as you can see, we were a bit overloaded in savoury egg pastries, as well as in the wine department! 

Carolyn and Bex

Luke and I (note: if you do go, make sure you rug up, since it gets quite chilly as the sun goes down)

Carolyn and Anna
Loved the pre-show perfomances of 1920s hits. :)

Todd Dixon as Sir Toby






Bravo! Definitely recommend this if you get the chance to go next summer. 

Until next time :)

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