Fall 2008

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October 31-1st @ 8pm
November 1st @1pm

Boston University Student Theater: located in between FitRec and Agganis Arena

Directed by Andra Skaalrud and Sean Link

Twelfth Night follows the life of Viola--a young woman who believes her beloved brother died--as she attempts to woo a husband and battle off an amorous countess who thinks Viola is a man. The messy and hilarious show brings viewers a bit of everything, from cross-dressing and gender confusion to slapstick comedy and over-the-top acting. In true Shakespearian fashion, it ends with a slew of marriages and the bad guy getting his comeuppance.

To modern viewers, January 5th might just seem like another day, a time of cool weather and recuperation from the insanity of the holidays. Yet it is that otherwise uneventful day that Shakespeare chose to treat in his 1601 work Twelfth Night. Originally a Catholic holiday marking the  Feast of the Epiphany—the close of the holiday season which Halloween had begun—the Twelfth Night festival saw reality turned upon its head: women would dress up as men, men would dress up as women, servants would become masters, and revelry would reign king. Twelfth Night—our Twelfth Night—captures the celebration of the holiday in the finest form, weaving together a mess of courtships, deceptions, and trickery, resulting, as all of the Bard’s comedies do, in a slew of marriages.