What country, friends, is this? Why, this is Illyria, a slightly shabby sea-side resort where end-of-the-pier shows seem to permeate normal life and Shakespearian drama.
This pop reimagining of Twelfth Night sees Viola shipwrecked in front of a row of beach changing huts, each the home to the other characters. Here will be played out the tale of misrule which sees crossed lovers, crossdressing and one cross servant.
Now disguised as Cesario, she becomes he, and manservant to Duke Orsino, a slick Riviera crooner, completely in love with Countess Olivia and more than a little with himself. If music be the food of love the Count is in luck, as jester Feste sits on the step of his hut with a mug of tea and a back catalogue of 70’s easy listening vinyl.
Orsino may not be reaching the high notes but he seems to be hitting it off with blonde bombshell Olivia as they dance to the Silvery Moon. All’s well but may not end well as Olivia falls for Cesario who is in fact Viola who loves Orsino – and then Viola’s twin brother turns up.
The classic tale of mistaken identity and the absurdity of love is given an in-vogue vaudeville twist with foolish Sir Andrew Aguecheek reduced to a puppet; literally manipulated by drunken Sir Toby in a would-be vent act.
With the beach huts looking like puppet shows, they also pull the strings of Malvolio, the churlish steward to Olivia, who sees himself at her side, enthroned as a Count. Fooled into seeking advancement he is soon prancing around like some unholy offspring of Woody Allen and Austin Powers.
Offering a string of 'doctor, doctor' jokes, Feste is part fool; part sage. A little time and care worn, his advice is however bang up to date – including a good Chinese restaurant near the Elephant. The musical interludes that he provides on his portable record player offer something not usually found in Shakespeare, time to contemplate and just take in the view.
The character changing remains fast paced however, with the cast of five filling all the roles. Where else but the theatre can a sex change be accomplished by a change of clothes and character signified by the addition of a hat? As Olivia goes from blonde to brunette to redhead we still recognise her as the same person. We are asked where the boundaries of identity, gender and class actually lie.
A magical mishap of the Tommy Cooper variety seems to require one additional change of character. There are nods towards the history of entertainment, from the earlier works that Shakespeare himself drew upon to music hall, Laurel and Hardy, vaudeville, variety, The Good Old Days and into light entertainment.
The language of Bard is not always present; it’s performed in French (with English supertitles) for one thing, but this is a celebration of the populist Shakespeare and the impact of the work and its playfulness that echoes down the years.
During the curtain-call dance number, the EIF audience claps along in time to the music as if at a panto. What country, friends, is this?
Performance Times: 11, 12 and 13 August 2016 at 7.30pm. 12 and 13 August 2016 at 2.30pm.
Tickets: £10 - £32. (discounts available)
Suitability: General