Or What You Will. Shakespeare comedy of mistaken identity, practical jokes and unrequited love. Rescued from a shipwreck the twins Viola and Sebastian arrive independently in Illyria, both thinking the other is drowned. Viola disguises herself as a boy and finds employment with the Duke who is in love with Olivia. Malvolio is the subject of a cruel joke played on him by Sir Toby Belch (yellow stockings cross-gartered) leading him to believe that Olivia loves him. But Olivia has fallen in love with the disguised Viola, while she is in love with the Duke (following it so far?!). Yukio Ninagawa, Japan's great classical director, returns to bite for the sixth time, following the monumental success of Coriolanus during bite07. For bite09, the Barbican presents a Kabuki version of Twelfth Night, one of William Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, performed by Shochiku Grand Kabuki and directed by Ninagawa. This is the first time that the director has worked in the Kabuki tradition, though he has worked extensively with actors trained in the Kabuki style in previous productions. Twelfth Night realises Ninagawa's ambition to work within the genre's conventions and embrace a new challenge. Kabuki brings to the performance a unique acting style and two of Kabuki's greatest stars perform at the Barbican, Onoe Kikugoro VII and his son Onoe Kikunosuke V. The action is located in a colourful world of fantasy set in Japan's historical past and Kikunosuke plays both Viola and Sebastian using the famous hayagawari (quick-change) technique. Twelfth Night is in Japanese with English surtitles.| 24 Mar 09 to 28 Mar 09 | Barbican Centre West End, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
