Twelfth Night; or, What You Will (1973)

Intro

A Cambridge Theatre Co. production of Shakespeare's play, performed during a regional tour and at Cambridge Arts Theatre (opened autumn 1973).

Photos

The publication from the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guilford, which accompanied this production of Twelfth Night, is the earliest example I have found of a theatre programme that includes both a publicity photo of Zoe and list of her stage credits. They are reproduced above.

Overview

Twelfth Night is a comedy of mistaken identity, with aspects of tragedy.

Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, are shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria. They are separated in the chaos, and each subsequently believes the other has drowned.

Once ashore, and with the help of a sea captain, Viola disguises herself as a boy and assumes the name Cesario, entering the service of the Duke of Orsino. The Duke sends 'Cesario' to woo Olivia on his behalf - but the gentlewoman falls in love with the servant instead.

Meanwhile, Antonio has come to the aid of Sebastian, whom Olivia mistakes for Cesario. She and Viola's twin brother are then secretly married, much to the latter's bemusement!

As the play concludes, true identities are revealed and Orsino realises that he loves Viola.

Cast

Zoë Wanamaker ... Viola

Roger Rees ... A Sea Captain

Trevor Bowen ... Orsino, Duke of Illyria

Kit Thacker ... Curio (attending on the Duke)

Oliver Ford-Davies ... Valentine (attending on the Duke)

John Green ... Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's Kinsman

Brenda Peters ... Maria, Olivia`s gentlewoman

James Aubrey ... Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Denis Lawson ... Feste, Olivia`s clown

Diane Fletcher ... Olivia

Philip Donaghy ... Malvolio, Olivia's steward

Roger Rees ... Fabian, servant to Olivia

Geoffrey Bateman ... Antonio, friend to Sebastian

Jack Galloway ... Sebastian

Joan Moon ... Servant to Olivia

Geoffrey Kirkness ... Officer

Osmund Bullock ... Priest

Crew

Director: Richard Cottrell
Designer: Bob Ringwood
Music: John Addison
Lighting Designer: Michael Outhwaite
Production photographer: Chris J. Arthur, Transworld Eye

Notes

Having played Olivia in a 1971 production of Twelfth Night, Zoë assumed the role of Viola for this Cambridge Theatre Company production, in which the cast wore period costumes and the set resembled a garden terrace.

Zoe was among a number of young performers at the Cambridge Theatre Company during its 1973-4 season (a period of around eight months). With the other company members, she performed a diverse repertoire of plays, encompassing comedy, drama, and pantomime. Twelfth Night was their first production, followed by Aunt Sally, Jack and the Beanstalk, She Stoops to Conquer, Fears and Miseries of the Third Reich, and French Without Tears.

By early 1974, Twelfth Night was being presented alongside She Stoops to Conquer. The company's productions were performed in rotation (a week of one show, say, followed by a week of another), with the exception of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Press coverage

Zoë's portrayal of Viola was, as reviewer Eric Shorter pointed out in a regional newspaper, one of the high points of the production. He remarked that Viola's struggles, as performed by the young actress, were 'touchingly funny'.

Merchandise

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare