Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare - Thames Shakespeare Collection | Classic Play for Theater, Literature Study & Gift Ideas

I'm surprised by some of the strongly negative reviews of this production. I'm not usually a big Kenneth Branagh fan, but this video of a stage production he directed is an extremely thoughtful, probing and moving realization of Shakepeare's play, perhaps one of the first plays for which the term "comedy-drama" seems appropriate. (Branagh didn't direct it for TV, but it is a filming of his production.)It should be noted that the visual quality sometimes could be a little sharper. Also, it's a video of a stage production (though shot in a studio), and the set design is very stylized (and the design is generally in muted colors). So if you're looking for a Twelfth Night that looks like a movie, this is not it.As with some of the other film and TV productions of this play, the order of the first two scenes is reversed. The production starts with images of a violent storm preceding the scene between Viola and the Captain, a smart touch.When we move to the next scene (the first scene in the text), we see that Branagh is taking the title as a clue to the time of year in which to set the play. This is a wintertime Twelfth Night, and a Christmas tree appears prominently in some scenes. But this production is not full of Christmas cheer. It is a rather dark, world-weary and disturbing production of the play. Among other things, Branagh emphasizes the cruel and dangerous side of the various tricks, and the many references to death throughout the play also emerge strongly. If you're looking for a lighthearted production that emphasizes the comedy in the play, this is not it.The acting is mostly on the naturalistic side, with an uncommon clarity to both the relationships and the language. This is a Shakespeare production in which everyone seems to be talking to each other rather than orating. Also, there is an unusual tension and sense of conflict in the playing of some scenes that are usually treated in a more offhand way.There's one interesting, offbeat casting choice. Andrew Aguecheek (James Simmons) is tall and gangly, but he is also young, good-looking and less overtly buffoonish than usual, making you understand why Toby might regard him as a plausible suitor for Olivia.Anton Lesser gives us a complex, self-loathing Feste. He is bitter and downright insolent and resentful toward those on whom he is dependent for money. Indeed, throughout the play I became aware as I had never been before of how much emphasis is placed on money, with the implication that it can corrupt and cheapen relationships.Christopher Ravenscroft is a particularly neurotic, intense, manic-depressive Orsino, and it is this very oversensitivity that attracts Viola.Caroline Langrishe's Olivia barely seems to be in mourning, an interesting choice. She is commanding, sophisticated, worldly, yet sensible and likeable. Christopher Hollis is a sensitive, vulnerable Sebastian, making you understand why Antonio wants to protect him, though he doesn't find the comedy in the role.Abigail McKern is a tart, tough Maria. This is a woman you shouldn't cross, as Malvolio should have realized.Richard Briers manages the trick that I've seen other Malvolios aim for and not quite achieve: he is both a comic and a tragic figure. Briers (helped by some of Branagh's directorial choices) is devastating in the final scene.Holding it all together is Frances Barber's empathetic, charming Viola, possessed of an inner radiance that makes you understand why both Orsino and Olivia are drawn to her.Branagh stages the final scene particularly well. "And the rain it raineth every day" has directorial touches that left me in tears.There are some problems, starting with the sound. Most of the time it's fine, but in some scenes I kept having to adjust the volume. Also, the music (there's a good deal of underscoring) isn't always well-integrated, and "O Mistress Mine" doesn't work, though the other songs do.In some of the later scenes, the acting loses its grip a bit. The production's biggest problem is one of tone in some of the later scenes that are traditionally treated as comic. The production has by this time established such a serious tone that the somewhat stagy comic playing of these scenes is jarring. Also, the scenes themselves are played partly seriously and partly comically, and the switches in tone don't work. I suspect these scenes worked better onstage with an audience than they do here.Still, this is a singularly rewarding Twelfth Night. Very highly recommended.