Twelfth Night has a special place in my heart because it was one of the first of his plays, if not the first, that I saw on stage. When I was about 15 I saw Kenneth Branagh’s stage production with Richard Briers as Malvolio and loved it, I think the humor means that younger viewers can get a lot out of it. I also really enjoyed the 2003 TV movie directed by Tim Supple set in the present day. There is so much going on, so many intrigues and misunderstandings that it is just a joy to watch or read and will probably always be a favorite for me. Great use of the whiteboard Kelly!
@@josmith5992 Jo, I am so jealous! That production sounds incredible. Thank you so much for watching, and I appreciate your feedback on the whiteboard. 💛🎭
"If music be the food of love, play on" is my favourite quote from Twelfth Night. I read it last year, sometime in April, I think. I thought it was such a fun play and enjoyed it a lot. I love your whiteboard, great way to present all the complicated relationships in the play. I also thought that Orsino and Viola would probably make it as a couple, since they had some time to get to know each other. Olivia and Sebastian on the other hand, I'm not so sure. Yes, you're right about Croatia, it was part of Illyria, as well as some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina, living close to the Croatian border. Looking forward to your video on Shakespeare: the Man who Pays the Rent. Enjoy the rest of Shaketember!🎉😊
Lana, thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts on Twelfth Night and sharing about where you come from. Yes, between those two couples Sebastian and Olivia are more likely to struggle. But as it's a play, which we will wish them all happy endings, right? 😊So excited to talk about Judi Dench next week! Oh and thanks for the feedback on the whiteboard. Not sure how I'll use it in the future, but I thought it could be a good way to show the complexities of relationships. Happy reading!💛
Great video! Twelfth Night is one of my absolute favourite Shakespeare plays. (Probably the one I've seen most times live on stage, as I talk about in my Shakespeare Journey Tag video.) It's so gloriously queer, and beautifully poignant. I love the songs, and wrote my own tunes for them all. Love it a lot! Sad to say, I think Shakespeare's son Hamnet, one of the twins, had died by the time he wrote Twelfth Night. It's possible that the reunion of Viola and Sebastian was partly wish fulfilment for him.
Great point! I need to catch up on my Shakespeare Journey videos, but I'm so jealous that you've seen this performed multiple times. That's so cool you wrote your own melodies for the songs in this. I love that!💛
Love the whiteboard! Having it all mapped out like that shows how truly insane this play is. 😂 I've always felt rather bad for Malvolio. Nothing he did was really awful enough to warrant what they did to him. The drama department at my undergrad performed this, and the guy who played Malvolio was fantastic, and also just an overall likeable guy. So maybe that is impacting my view of the character.
@@elizabethaliteraryprincess No, I think a lot of people would agree with you. He’s a bit snobby, but he’s not mad, which would have been a very different thing in Shakespeare’s day! Thanks so much for watching and commenting! 💛🎭
Fun discussion of Twelfth Night, Kelly. After your last video I dropped all my other reading to try to get through Year of the Lear. I've done that and will post some comments soon. Thanks again for hosting Shaketember.
@@larrymarshall9454 Oh my goodness, Larry! I am so flattered and I can’t believe you already finished it! Well, I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you for your enthusiasm! 😃🎭💛
@@booksimnotreading I don't have a TH-cam channel and it always seems to me that people like me should support these events you guys run at least by our comments to you. My daughter just came to visit so I've yet to write my comments on Year for Lear but I will post them "real soon" :-)
I decided to watch this rather than reading it this year. I saw the fantastic National Theatre production with Tamsin Greig as Malvolio, that really brings out the tragedy and cruelty of Malvolio's experience. There's a great interview where she talks about seeing the character as like an unpopped kernel of corn, and when he gets the letter he "pops" and thinks he's loved and can reveal his own flamboyant self (it goes a bit burlesque for a bit!) The dream is then of course totally crushed. In this staging, the Antonio-Sebastian relationship is shown as reciprocal and loving, but Sebastian is somehow swept up by Olivia. He's on his own in a strange city, Antonio doesn't meet him where he said he would, and Sir Toby is randomly attacking him so you can see why he might seek powerful protection! But it leaves Antonio with Malvolio among the play's losers, and I also doubt the success of the Olivia-Sebastian marriage (love the whiteboard by the way). I do think Viola-Duke have a good chance based on their existing relationship, though the Duke is prone to some extremes of language, romantic and as you say violent at times. One character that this time I couldn't put a finger on was Fabian. Seemed like a bit of a make-weight character that didn't add much to the play.
Tilly, thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with me! I love hearing about the production you saw - a burlesque Malvolio! No wonder Olivia thinks he's mad. Totally agree with you about Fabian, but it's Shakespeare, so who knows? Someone has to be the messenger! So glad you like the whiteboard. It's great for Shakespeare, but how shall I use it the rest of the year??? Hmmm. So glad you are watching this year. 💛🎭
@@booksimnotreading I'm sure you will find a use for it - you could write a quote of the day on it and put it in the background? Or create an artistic response to each book in marker pen...
Whenever I think about Shakespeare plays I should reread, this one always comes to mind as something I would probably get a lot more out of now. Once upon a time I was in a production of Twelfth Night, an experience I look back on with mixed feelings. The director was one of the most irritating people I've ever met, but some of the cast members were fun to be around, especially the guy who played Orsino. I didn't have any lines, so that probably didn't help. The sense I get is that a lot of the marriages we see in Shakespeare's comedies wouldn't necessarily go well after the events of the play. So your comments on how these relationships would work makes sense. Shakespeare's fools are the best! The fool in Titus is done dirty. 😭
Lukas, thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts on my video! Yes, I think this may be the only temporarily "happy" marriage in Shakespeare is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Whew! What a couple! I'm sorry your experience of being in Twelfth Night was so mixed. The plays and musicals I was in was one way or another - either I had a great big part or I had one line in one song. But the friends in my high school of theater kids was great! 💛
Straggler cometh 🐌 Act I was great, but unfortunately, it became a slog to the last scene. Despite it, I pocketed some golden lines: “Make me a willow cabin at your gate And call upon my soul within the house…” I’ll be sure to pitch that to someone someday....But soft! soft! Someday as in like NEVER or if my chances be < 50%. 18 est. hours later after reading it, I got pizza and watched She’s the Man. Too bad the cringe-worthy moments overrode my early 2000s nostalgia. At the very least, I enjoyed your vid of Twelfth Night. Thank you. 👍 Antonio to Sebastian is like Sam to Frodo 👀
@@sbonafi Thanks for watching and commenting! I would recommend the film adaptation of Twelfth Night with Toby Stephens and Helena Bonham-Carter! I watched the trailer for She’s the Man, but cringed too much just in the trailer! 💛🎭
Saw this a couple of times including at Stratford. Good interpretation, lots of interesting ideas
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! So great you got to see this in Stratford!💛
Good discussion of _Twelfth Night._ It’s such an iconic play. Seeing them once, you never forget those yellow cross-gartered tights.
Never! I feel a bit sorry for him, but he's a hilarious character!💛
I’m DYING over your illustration for Malvolio 😂😂😂😂😂😂 The scene where he shows up in the yellow socks was hysterical. Ok, imma finish the video now. 💛
Glad you like my drawings! LOL! 💛
Love the board 😂😂😂 Such a great play - funny and melancholy. 'I am the man' is a fave line of mine too.
@@royreadsanything Thanks Roy! It’s a very funny play with a kind of wistfulness to it. Glad the white board gave you a laugh! 💛🎭
Twelfth Night has a special place in my heart because it was one of the first of his plays, if not the first, that I saw on stage. When I was about 15 I saw Kenneth Branagh’s stage production with Richard Briers as Malvolio and loved it, I think the humor means that younger viewers can get a lot out of it. I also really enjoyed the 2003 TV movie directed by Tim Supple set in the present day. There is so much going on, so many intrigues and misunderstandings that it is just a joy to watch or read and will probably always be a favorite for me. Great use of the whiteboard Kelly!
@@josmith5992 Jo, I am so jealous! That production sounds incredible. Thank you so much for watching, and I appreciate your feedback on the whiteboard. 💛🎭
"If music be the food of love, play on" is my favourite quote from Twelfth Night.
I read it last year, sometime in April, I think. I thought it was such a fun play and enjoyed it a lot.
I love your whiteboard, great way to present all the complicated relationships in the play. I also thought that Orsino and Viola would probably make it as a couple, since they had some time to get to know each other. Olivia and Sebastian on the other hand, I'm not so sure.
Yes, you're right about Croatia, it was part of Illyria, as well as some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. I'm from Bosnia and Herzegovina, living close to the Croatian border.
Looking forward to your video on Shakespeare: the Man who Pays the Rent. Enjoy the rest of Shaketember!🎉😊
Lana, thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts on Twelfth Night and sharing about where you come from. Yes, between those two couples Sebastian and Olivia are more likely to struggle. But as it's a play, which we will wish them all happy endings, right? 😊So excited to talk about Judi Dench next week! Oh and thanks for the feedback on the whiteboard. Not sure how I'll use it in the future, but I thought it could be a good way to show the complexities of relationships. Happy reading!💛
Great video! Twelfth Night is one of my absolute favourite Shakespeare plays. (Probably the one I've seen most times live on stage, as I talk about in my Shakespeare Journey Tag video.) It's so gloriously queer, and beautifully poignant. I love the songs, and wrote my own tunes for them all. Love it a lot!
Sad to say, I think Shakespeare's son Hamnet, one of the twins, had died by the time he wrote Twelfth Night. It's possible that the reunion of Viola and Sebastian was partly wish fulfilment for him.
Great point! I need to catch up on my Shakespeare Journey videos, but I'm so jealous that you've seen this performed multiple times. That's so cool you wrote your own melodies for the songs in this. I love that!💛
Fascinating video :)
Thanks so much, Katie! Your comments always are extra special to me! x
Love the whiteboard! Having it all mapped out like that shows how truly insane this play is. 😂 I've always felt rather bad for Malvolio. Nothing he did was really awful enough to warrant what they did to him. The drama department at my undergrad performed this, and the guy who played Malvolio was fantastic, and also just an overall likeable guy. So maybe that is impacting my view of the character.
@@elizabethaliteraryprincess No, I think a lot of people would agree with you. He’s a bit snobby, but he’s not mad, which would have been a very different thing in Shakespeare’s day! Thanks so much for watching and commenting! 💛🎭
Fun discussion of Twelfth Night, Kelly. After your last video I dropped all my other reading to try to get through Year of the Lear. I've done that and will post some comments soon. Thanks again for hosting Shaketember.
@@larrymarshall9454 Oh my goodness, Larry! I am so flattered and I can’t believe you already finished it! Well, I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you for your enthusiasm! 😃🎭💛
@@booksimnotreading I don't have a TH-cam channel and it always seems to me that people like me should support these events you guys run at least by our comments to you. My daughter just came to visit so I've yet to write my comments on Year for Lear but I will post them "real soon" :-)
@@larrymarshall9454 No worries, Larry! I look forward to your comments whenever you have the time! 💛
That board actually did help 😅 This story was complex 😂
✌️😃
Well I'm the glad the white board has been useful! It does get a bit complicated! 💛
I never read it nor saw it. Your analysis is impressive. I enjoyed watching it
Stuart, you are such a good sport! Thanks so much for watching. Happy reading!💛
@@booksimnotreading You're welcome. Happy reading to you too
I decided to watch this rather than reading it this year. I saw the fantastic National Theatre production with Tamsin Greig as Malvolio, that really brings out the tragedy and cruelty of Malvolio's experience. There's a great interview where she talks about seeing the character as like an unpopped kernel of corn, and when he gets the letter he "pops" and thinks he's loved and can reveal his own flamboyant self (it goes a bit burlesque for a bit!) The dream is then of course totally crushed.
In this staging, the Antonio-Sebastian relationship is shown as reciprocal and loving, but Sebastian is somehow swept up by Olivia. He's on his own in a strange city, Antonio doesn't meet him where he said he would, and Sir Toby is randomly attacking him so you can see why he might seek powerful protection! But it leaves Antonio with Malvolio among the play's losers, and I also doubt the success of the Olivia-Sebastian marriage (love the whiteboard by the way). I do think Viola-Duke have a good chance based on their existing relationship, though the Duke is prone to some extremes of language, romantic and as you say violent at times.
One character that this time I couldn't put a finger on was Fabian. Seemed like a bit of a make-weight character that didn't add much to the play.
Tilly, thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with me! I love hearing about the production you saw - a burlesque Malvolio! No wonder Olivia thinks he's mad. Totally agree with you about Fabian, but it's Shakespeare, so who knows? Someone has to be the messenger! So glad you like the whiteboard. It's great for Shakespeare, but how shall I use it the rest of the year??? Hmmm. So glad you are watching this year. 💛🎭
@@booksimnotreading I'm sure you will find a use for it - you could write a quote of the day on it and put it in the background? Or create an artistic response to each book in marker pen...
Whenever I think about Shakespeare plays I should reread, this one always comes to mind as something I would probably get a lot more out of now. Once upon a time I was in a production of Twelfth Night, an experience I look back on with mixed feelings. The director was one of the most irritating people I've ever met, but some of the cast members were fun to be around, especially the guy who played Orsino. I didn't have any lines, so that probably didn't help.
The sense I get is that a lot of the marriages we see in Shakespeare's comedies wouldn't necessarily go well after the events of the play. So your comments on how these relationships would work makes sense.
Shakespeare's fools are the best! The fool in Titus is done dirty. 😭
Lukas, thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts on my video! Yes, I think this may be the only temporarily "happy" marriage in Shakespeare is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Whew! What a couple! I'm sorry your experience of being in Twelfth Night was so mixed. The plays and musicals I was in was one way or another - either I had a great big part or I had one line in one song. But the friends in my high school of theater kids was great! 💛
Straggler cometh 🐌
Act I was great, but unfortunately, it became a slog to the last scene.
Despite it, I pocketed some golden lines: “Make me a willow cabin at your gate
And call upon my soul within the house…”
I’ll be sure to pitch that to someone someday....But soft! soft! Someday as in like NEVER or if my chances be < 50%.
18 est. hours later after reading it, I got pizza and watched She’s the Man. Too bad the cringe-worthy moments overrode my early 2000s nostalgia.
At the very least, I enjoyed your vid of Twelfth Night. Thank you. 👍
Antonio to Sebastian is like Sam to Frodo 👀
@@sbonafi Thanks for watching and commenting! I would recommend the film adaptation of Twelfth Night with Toby Stephens and Helena Bonham-Carter! I watched the trailer for She’s the Man, but cringed too much just in the trailer! 💛🎭