Shakespeare’s curiously cruel comedy is given a lively reimaging by touring theatre troupe The Pantaloons.
The compact cast of four make the most of the plot’s disguises and mistaken identities, adding some confusion of their own with every actor playing Feste the Fool.
They stick true to the spirit of Shakespeare as a entertainer first and foremost, throwing in plenty of music and song, plus a few adlibs and additions to cover the necessary costume changes for such a bijou band of performers.
Tonight’s performance at the Norwich Playhouse felt particularly stripped down, with the company’s outdoor theatre roots showing through in the guise of an extremely sparse set – just a trellis and a bench – which felt a little cheeky for a more indoor-theatre ticket price.
The acting easily filled the room however, with Holly Durkin’s doubling up as Viola and Maria especially enjoyable, and Jonny Wiles making us feel truly sorry for his much-abused Malvolio. Sam Gibbons played up the physical comedy, stumbling and pratfalling about as the drunken Toby Belch, while also delivering up a much more austere Orsino. Elizabeth Bell completed the quartet as both Olivia and Belch’s sidekick Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Other than the pretty bleak treatment of Malvolio, Twelfth Night is often seen as one of the Bard’s lighter pieces and the audience really clicked into the company’s version of the play – there really was no need for the running gag about whether Shakespeare was funny. The laughs were plentiful throughout.
- Twelfth Night by The Pantaloons was at Norwich Playhouse on 10 September 2026, and is touring nationally including Diss Corn Hall on 17 September 2026; Westacre Theatre, Kings Lynn on 19 September 2026; Gallery Studio Theatre, Ipswich, on 26 September 2026; Dilham Village Hall, North Walsham on 8 October 2026; and Fisher Theatre, Bungay on 9 October 2026.