Lynn Gardner, Guardian (21 August 2007)

Earlier this year, the theatre collective Filter and director Sean Holmes successfully dusted down Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle for a run at the National Theatre. Shakespeare's melancholic comedy Twelfth Night may be in less need of such treatment, but the company make this oft-revived play seem almost newly minted. The production has a messy, joyful, off-the-cuff quality, and in Poppy Miller it boasts one of the most affecting Violas I have ever seen. She is a tentative young woman, grief-stricken by her brother's death and surprised by her love for Orsino. The suggestion here is that grief and unrequited love are bedfellows, offering an equal measure of pain.

This is a play shot through with the soundtrack of love and fast-beating, storm-tossed hearts. Filter's distinctive experiments with music and sound add layer upon layer to the rich poetry of the pared-down text. A rattling teacup signals the storm that leads to Viola being washed up in Illyria, and Sir Toby and Sir Andrew's fateful party becomes one of those drunken occasions when everyone starts singing karaoke torch songs. For the smitten Orsino, Olivia is the sound of love itself - the siren call of a bewitching mermaid who would dash your heart out on the rocks of desire.

There is a brilliantly touching and erotic moment at the beginning when Viola and Orsino's lips might brush were it not for the sound of Olivia between them. The idea recurs at the very end as Miller - cast both as Viola and her twin brother - holds the hands of both her would-be husband and recently married wife. There are going to be three people in each of these marriages.

In a play of gender swapping and identity confusions these ideas sit very neatly indeed. The production is always fresh, immediate and open not just in its storytelling but also in its relationship with the audience. Nonetheless, enjoying this production to its fullest requires prior acquaintance with the play. There are occasions, particularly towards the end, when the doubling of characters is awkward and, rather than illuminating the play, starts to make it seem unnecessarily complicated. The result is that a production that appears to be sailing triumphantly towards full-scale emotional meltdown suddenly gets blown off course at the crucial moment.




ThreeWeeks (23 August 2007)

This energetic performance of Shakespeare's comedy 'Twelfth Night' was impressive and enjoyable. A new twist on the play, using mod cons such as radios and headphones as props, it was tongue in cheek without being over the top of blasphemous with one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. The original songs and accompanying music was excellent throughout, and the whole performance was amusing and entertaining. The mulit-talented cast, who were both acting and providing the music, were commendable, particularly the actor playing Sir Toby [Ollie Dimsdale], who provided many laughs with his drunken rambles. Overall, if you're a fan of Shakespeare, this play puts a fantastically different take on the masterpiece, whilst still maintaining its timeless character.