Video by Art Left Creative

ILLYRIA, LAND OF MISRULE 

In the bright and brilliant carnival of Illyria, music truly is “the food of love.” The magician Orsino—better known as “the Duke”—composes a love song, determined to win over the heart of the Countess, a fellow circus star named Olivia. However, Olivia is still mourning the recent losses of her father and brother and has no interest in love.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Illyria, a young girl named Viola washes ashore after a shipwreck. Believing that her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned in the wreck, Viola disguises herself as a young man named Cesario in order to find work as a singer for Orsino. Viola, dressed as Cesario, quickly becomes a favourite of Orsino’s, but she finds herself falling in love with the Duke, which makes it slightly complicated when Orsino sends Viola to woo Olivia on his behalf. However, when Viola arrives to deliver Orsino’s messages, Olivia isn’t interested in what Orsino has to say—instead, it is “Cesario” that catches her attention!

As a love triangle forms between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola/Cesario, there is even more mayhem on the horizon when the other members of Olivia’s household enter the scene. Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby, encourages his equally unruly friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek to woo Olivia, much to the horror of Olivia’s personal assistant Maria. Despite their differences, the three of them, along with the stand-up comic Feste, come together against a common foe: Malvolia, Olivia’s uptight stage manager. As a joke, Maria fakes a declaration of love from Olivia to Malvolia, instructing Malvolia to dress and act a certain way if she returns Olivia’s love.

More confusion ensues when Sebastian, who has survived the shipwreck after all, arrives in Illyria with his friend Antonia. However, the two quickly go their separate ways, as Antonia is considered a criminal in Illyria. Meanwhile, Sir Andrew has challenged Viola to a duel after seeing Olivia’s feelings for “Cesario.” When Antonia sees this, she defends Viola, thinking that “Cesario” is Sebastian, and is seen by officers and arrested for her past crimes against Orsino.

Confusion reigns as Viola and Sebastian are mistaken for one another by multiple characters. Will misunderstandings prevail, or will all these “journeys end in lovers meeting”? Join us at the carnival and find out!

Available translations of “The Story”:

Chinese (Traditional)  Farsi  French  Korean  Punjabi  Spanish

To listen to the Twelfth Night “In a Nutshell” Pre-Show plot explainer, read by Bard’s Director of Education, Mary Hartman, press play below! It is approximately 7.5 minutes long.