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TWELFTH NIGHT

June 11 to September 21 • BMO MAINSTAGE

Remember that song? The one you listened to over and over again when you first fell in love? In Illyria, music is the food of love… and so much more. With original music by celebrated local composer Veda Hille, plus fights, pranks, jokes, and miracles, Twelfth Night is both hilarious and deep. It holds a mirror to our folly and reflects how love transforms us, for better or worse. Bard’s big tent is the perfect venue for this carnival world’s poetry and chaos, with “salt waves fresh in love” sparkling in the distance.

Adapted and directed by Diana Donnelly

Season and production run dates subject to change.

Production run time: TBD

Production Sponsor:

Photo Credit: Aidan Correia as Orsino and Camille Legg as Viola
Photo & Image Design: Emily Cooper

The Story

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

Director

Diana Donnelly (she/her)

Director

For Bard: Debut. Other directing credits: sexy Laundry (Arts Club); The Tempest (studio 58); The Doctor’s Dilemma and The Russian Play (Shaw Festival); and Far Away (Neil Munro Director’s Project); as Associate Director: Stars: Together (Crow’s Theatre); The Orchard and The Hound of the Baskervilles (Shaw). Selected acting credits: East of Berlin (Touchstone/Chutzpah/Firehall/ Tarragon); Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Repercussion Theatre); As You Like It and Twelfth Night (Resurgence Theatre); Private Lives and August: Osage County (Citadel); Major Barbara, Arcadia, Sex (Shaw Festival); The Last Wife (Centaur); and Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Soulpepper). Dora Award for Best Ensemble for Jerusalem (Outside the March/Company Theatre/Crow’s). Awards: Diana was shortlisted for Crow’s Theatre’s 2019 RBC Rising Star Emerging Director Prize and the 2020 Gina Wilkinson Prize.

Actors

Kate Besworth (she/her)

Understudy for Viola

Kate is a theatre performer and playwright currently working on the unceded and stolen lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkʷəyə̓m (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. This is Kate’s sixth year working with Bard on the Beach. For Bard: Titania, Bianca, John Webster, Witch, Julia, Done/Undone. Kate is in love with Charlie Gallant.

Ivy Charles (she/her)

Antonia

Select theatre: Little Shop of Horrors and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Arts Club); Orlando (RMTC); In My Day (Zee Zee); Beautiful Man (Pi Theatre); East Van Panto: Pinocchio (Theatre Replacement); and A Chorus Line, Urinetown, Antony and Cleopatra, and Cabaret (Studio 58). Ivy was awarded a Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artists Grant in 2019 while attending Studio 58. Select TV and Film: So Help Me Todd (CBS); Mixed Baggage (Hallmark); Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime); and Novelette is Trying (OUTtv).

Evelyn Chew (she/her)

Maria

Evelyn is an actor, educator, and mentor. She is a member of the UBCP BIPOC Committee and UBCP Education Subcommittee. Selected credits: Canada, It’s Complicated (Mary Walsh); Reflections In Crooked Walking (Firehall Arts Centre); The Five Vengeances (Affair Of Honour); Are We There Yet? (Jessie Award Recipient, Neworld Theatre); and Narcoleap (Leo Award Recipient). Evelyn is passionate about creating healthy work practices and likes to lead with love.

Aidan Correia (he/him)

Orsino

Selected credits include The Sound Inside (Coal Mine Theatre), Yaga (Touchstone), and Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure (Arts Club/Touchstone).

Charlie Gallant (he/him)

Sebastian, Ensemble

Charlie is delighted to return for his eighth season at Bard. After four seasons at Shaw, two at Stratford, and performances across Canada, some recent highlights include Frankenstein Revived (Stratford); The Sound Of Music (RMTC/Citadel); Instantaneous Blue (Mitch & Murray); and Done/Undone (Bard on the Beach). Voice-Over: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off; PAW Patrol: The Movie, and Pinkalicious & Peterrific. Film/TV: Good Witch; Murdoch Mysteries; The Strain; Fringe; and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Training: Studio 58, McIlroy & Associates. @charlie_byrd

Olivia Hutt (she/her)

Olivia

Olivia is honoured to engage as a settler on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Last seen at Bard: Casca (Julius Caesar), Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Portia (The Merchant of Venice). Other: Mitch & Murray Productions, ITSAZOO, Zee Zee, Green Thumb, and Young People’s Theatre. A Jessie Richardson Theatre Award winner, teacher, and advocate of decolonizing theatre today. This production is dedicated to the present—her daughter, her wife Kiki, and the ever-vivid memory of her brother, Adam.

Matthew Ip Shaw 葉 銘 康 (he/him)

Understudy for Sebastian, Ensemble, Valentine, Feste

Matthew has made significant contributions as an actor, director, and fight choreographer in film, TV, and theatre. Credits include acclaimed roles such as See The Animal at TIFF, Harmony of Grey at Cannes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in playhouses across Italy, and performances with the Lincoln Center Metropolitan Opera in NYC. With a repertoire spanning Shakespearean classics to modern cinema, Matthew garners acclaim for his distinct talents while advocating for diversity in the arts and fostering collaboration among all creators.

Nathan Kay (he/him)

Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Select credits include Bunny, Stupid F*cking Bird, and Fairview (The Search Party); Red Velvet (Arts Club); King Arthur’s Night (Neworld); and Strangers On A Train (Vertigo).

Camille Legg (they/them)

Viola

Cam is an actor and improviser based on the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Cam is very excited to be making their Bard debut! Their recent theatrical credits include As You Like It (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan); Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Arts Club/Citadel); and Like It Or Not (Green Thumb). Cam wishes to thank their friends, family, and mentors for their ongoing support.

Anton Lipovetsky (he/him)

Feste

Anton is a Vancouver-based actor, songwriter, musical director, sound designer, and teacher. This marks Anton’s sixth season at Bard. He has also performed on stages such as the NAC, Theatre Calgary, the Belfry, Arts Club, and the Stratford Festival. Writing musicals has taken him across North America, and his original musical comedy has garnered 450,000 streams on Spotify. Anton is a graduate of Studio 58 and the Stratford Birmingham Conservatory. Find him online @antronsongs.

Billy Marchenski

Understudy for Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Captain, Ringleader, Curio, Monsieur Topaz

Billy graduated from the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University. He is the recipient of the Sydney J. Risk prize for his play slowpoke in 2014. Billy teaches performance at SFU and is currently working on his own projects. He is also working with local artists Niall McNeil and Radix Theatre. This is his third season at Bard and he is happy to be back.

Chirag Naik (he/him)

Valentine (from Sept. 2)

Chirag is a South-Asian theatre, film, and voice actor. He’s honoured to return for his fifth season to play Hamlet. Born in Calgary, he’s revelled in renowned theatres countrywide including Bard on the Beach, the National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary, and others. He also works in TV and animated shows including international favourites like Upload, Strawberry Shortcake, Momolu and Friends, and Polly Pocket. Love and thanks to his wife and family for their support. Enjoy.

Dawn Petten (she/her)

Malvolia

Dawn’s ecstatic to be back on the Bard boards; she last trod this stage (pregnant!) in Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Other favourite roles here: Dromio in The Comedy of Errors and Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost, among others. Elsewhere: the one-person show Every Brilliant Thing (Caravan Farm); The Cull (Arts Club); and nine renditions of the beloved East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement). A grad of UBC’s BFA program and a multiple Jessie Award nominee and recipient, Dawn gives mad love and props (theatrical, ovational) to her family.

Christine Quintana (she/her)

Madame Mystique and Understudy for Maria, Olivia, Malvolia

Born in Los Angeles to a Mexican-American father and a Dutch-British-Canadian mother, Christine is now a grateful visitor to the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Christine is an award-winning actor and playwright, with works performed in over 10 cities internationally. She is a UBC BFA Acting graduate. Christine fell in love with theatre after seeing a show at Bard at age 8 and spent 3 beautiful summers as a Young Shakespearean, and is grateful to be here. christinequintana.ca

Munish Sharma (he/him)

Curio, Monsieur Topaz and Understudy for Orsino

Munish is happy and grateful to be back at Bard this season. He’s very thankful to continue to work on his craft and improve as a person. A big hug to his family, friends, and mentors. I wouldn’t be who I am without you. This winter Munish will be embarking on his first international tour as part of the Mahabharata team! Instagram: @munisharma.com0

Nadeem Phillip Umar Khitab (he/him)

Valentine (until Sept. 1)

Returning for his fourth season at Bard, Nadeem studied Acting at TMU and has been performing Shakespeare since 2008. Film/TV credits include Robyn Hood, Wedding Season, and The Handmaid’s Tale. He recently graduated from the Screenwriting program at Toronto Film School and is an emerging filmmaker. He is immensely grateful for the opportunity to play Hamlet but would never have made it here without the unwavering support of his family. Thank you, I love you. IG: @nadeemtheactor

Andrew Wheeler (he/him)

Captain, Ringleader, and Understudy for Sir Toby Belch

Andrew is delighted to be back for his thirteenth season at Bard. Previous favourite roles include Macbeth, Malvolio, Ulysses, Claudius, Autolycus, and Julius Caesar. Other recent theatre credits include Elf, Kinky Boots, Onegin, and One Man Two Guvnors (Arts Club); East Van Panto: The Little Mermaid (Theatre Replacement); Glory (Western Canada Theatre); House and Home and Urinetown (Firehall); Hir (Pi Theatre); and The Rainmaker and Re:Union (Pacific Theatre). Recent film and TV credits include Fargo, Omens, Pillow Talk, Legends Of Tomorrow, and Lucifer.

Marcus Youssef (he/him)

Sir Toby Belch

Marcus is very happy to be working with so many friends at Bard. Marcus’ twelve-ish plays have been produced in more than 20 countries globally, from off-Broadway in New York to Hong Kong, Reykjavik, and Berlin. His awards include the Siminovitch Prize for Theatre, the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award, Germany’s IKARUS Theatre Prize, the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award, the Chalmers Canadian Play Award, an Honorary Fellowship from Douglas College, and the Vancouver Critic’s Choice Innovation Award (three times).

Creative & Production

Starlynn Chen (she/her)

Apprentice Costume Designer

Starlynn is an emerging costume and set designer, graduating this December from the Production Program at Studio 58. She gratefully acknowledges the opportunity to live, learn, and work on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples. Recent credits include Design Assistant for Father Tartuffe: An Indigenous Misadventure (Arts Club/Touchstone); Apprentice Designer for Community Creates 2024 (Arts Club); Assistant to the Set Designer for Blood Wedding (Studio 58); and Education Production Assistant for Bard Education (Bard on the Beach). starlynnchen.com

Kate De Lorme (she/they)

Sound Designer

Kate is a sound artist and audio engineer from the Okanagan currently living on the traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəyə̓ m, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaʔ peoples, aka Vancouver, BC. Kate’s work integrates immersive spatial sound landscapes, technology, and sound healing. She graduated from UBC in 2015 with a BFA in Theatre Design and Production and has a certification in Audio Engineering. Kate’s designs are inclusive of high calibre recording and editing, composition, programming, live mixing, and interactivity. Kate is the cofounder and Director of Operations at Lobe Spatial Sound Studio in Vancouver. lobestudio.ca/katedelorme.com

Bro Gilbert

Magic Consultant

Bro is a magician, consultant, and speaker who has worked with some of the most popular magicians in the world. He is delighted to be working with the Twelfth Night team towards adding a little dusting of magic, mystery, and fun to the production.

Lisa Goebel (she/her)

Intimacy Director

Delighted to be returning for a third season, Lisa has worked as the Intimacy Director on Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Harlem Duet (Bard on the Beach). Recent credits with the Arts Club include Associate Movement Director and Intimacy Director for Choir Boy, Movement Consultant for Red Velvet, and Intimacy Director for Guys and Dolls. She completed her Intimacy Certification through Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and is a graduate of Studio 58.

Mara Gottler

Costume Designer

Mara has been designing costumes annually for Bard on the Beach since its founding year in 1990. Her recent designs for Bard include The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V. Other productions she has designed are stagings of several Robert Lepage operas and plays: Le Rossignol, a co-production with the Canadian Opera Company/Opéra National de Lyon/Aix-en-Provence/Nederlands Opera (Canada, France, Netherlands); La Tempête, co-produced with the Huron-Wendat Nation/Ex Machina (Quebec City, Canada); Coriolanus, at the Stratford Festival of Canada (Stratford, Canada); and Coriolan at Théâtre de Nouveau Monde (Montreal, Canada). Mara continues to instruct courses in the prestigious Studio 58 design program.

Alana Hawley Purvis (she/her)

Vocal Coach

Alana is a Vancouver-based actor and vocal coach. A proud Canadian artist, she has collaborated with organizations across North and Central America including Arts Club, Stratford Festival, Canadian Stage, Theatre Calgary, Citadel Theatre, Douglas College, and On the Mic Studio. Alana is a graduate of Stratford’s Birmingham Conservatory, the American Academy for Classical Acting (MFA), and the Royal Conservatory of Music’s ARCT in Voice and Performance, where she received the National Gold Medal. Alana performs on both the stage and screen and was nominated for Best Actress at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards. She is a member of the National Voice Association and currently runs the Your Voice program where she specializes in trans vocal care.

Jonathan Hawley Purvis (he/him)

Fight Director

Jonathan is a Fight Director, actor, choreographer, and stunt performer. Select fight direction credits include Julius Caesar, Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and Shakespeare in Love (Bard); As You Like It (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington DC, Chicago Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep); Antony and Cleopatra; and Three Musketeers, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); and Three Musketeers, Silver Arrow, Shakespeare In Love, West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, The Penelopiad, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Citadel Theatre).

Veda Hille

Composer

This is Veda’s first season with Bard, aside from her stint in the ‘90s where she dressed as a Shakespearean wench and stood on the Burrard Bridge to wave people in. Veda has composed for many theatre productions including Onegin, the East Van Panto, and do you want what i have got? a craigslist cantata. She also makes records, which you can find on the platforms or at vedahille.com. Look out for shows with her new band Veda Hille Sisterhood this summer and fall..

Pam Johnson

Set Designer

Since 1998, Pam’s Bard credits include last season’s As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Done/Undone, Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, King Lear, Cymbeline, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King John, Richard II, Titus Andronicus, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, and Richard III. Pam has received several Jessie Awards, as well as a 2012 GVPTA Career Achievement Award.

Lee Su-Feh (she/they)

Choreographer

Lee Su-Feh is a choreographer, performance-maker, and teacher of voice and movement. They split their time between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where they were born and raised, and Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh territories, where they now make their home. Over the past 35 years, they have created a provocative body of award-winning work that investigates the contemporary body as a site of intersecting histories and habits.

Anton Lipovetsky (he/him)

Musical Director

Anton is a Vancouver-based actor, songwriter, musical director, sound designer, and teacher. This marks Anton’s sixth season at Bard. He has also performed on stages such as the NAC, Theatre Calgary, the Belfry, Arts Club, and the Stratford Festival. Writing musicals has taken him across North America, and his original musical comedy has garnered 450,000 streams on Spotify. Anton is a graduate of Studio 58 and the Stratford Birmingham Conservatory. Find him online @antronsongs.

Anjela Magpantay

Apprentice Director

Anjela is a multidisciplinary artist working as an actor, director, producer, teacher, and devising collaborator with various artists of different disciplines. She has worked nationally and internationally as a performer and collaborator in Hong Kong, Philippines, in the UK, and across Canada. Anjela is currently the Interim Artistic Director of rice & beans theatre and works on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. She holds a BFA from Simon Fraser University.

Alison Matthews (she/her)

Head Voice & Text Coach

Alison teaches voice in the BFA Acting Program at the University of Alberta. She holds an MFA from UBC and a Diploma in Drama & Speech from Trinity College London. She was a founding faculty member with the Arts Club Actors Intensive in Vancouver, and she taught voice, text and dialects with the Banff/Citadel Professional Theatre Program in Banff, Alberta. Alison has three decades of professional acting experience in theatre, film and tv, and voice-over, and is a founding board member of the National Voice Association.

Victoria McNeil

Assistant Sound Designer

Victoria is a recent UBC Theatre graduate with a specialization in sound, and is thrilled to be a part of Twelfth Night as her first show with Bard on the Beach. Recent sound design credits include The Lifespan of a Fact (Kindred Theatre); Loose Assemblage (Bleed Through Theatre); and The Wolves (UBC Theatre). She is grateful to her lovely family, friends, and coworkers for always showing their support. victoriamcneil.ca

Harlow Nguyen (they/them)

Apprentice Stage Manager

Harlow is an emerging stage manager and theatre technician based in Burnaby, BC who recently graduated from UBC’s BFA Theatre Design & Production program. Bard on the Beach is Harlow’s first professional production post-graduation and they’re so grateful to be able to contribute to Bard’s two shows on the BMO Mainstage this season.

Emerenne Saefkow

Assistant Set Designer

Originally from the small northern town of Smithers, BC (Wet’suwet’en territory), Emerenne is a non-binary multidisciplinary artist who adores almost anything creative and hands-on. Select theatre credits include The Mixolydian (Green Thumb); The Tempest, Blue Stockings, and Everybody (Studio 58); and One of a Kind (Vancouver International Children’s Festival). You can see more of their work at emerennesaefkow.com.

Joanne P.B. Smith

Production Stage Manager

Some credits include eighteen seasons in the Douglas Campbell Theatre tent and two seasons on the BMO Mainstage at Bard on the Beach, and four seasons of East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement). A couple of other credits are As You Like It (Shakespeare Theatre Company) and Anywhere But Here (Electric Company).

Jennifer Stewart (she/her)

Assistant Stage Manager

Jenn is pleased to be back at Sen̓áḵw, having been part of the stage management team at Bard since 2013. Jenn works in various roles, with credits including Studies in Motion: The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge (Wardrobe, Electric Company Theatre); Of Mice and Men (Set, Hardline); Little Brother, Little Sister (Props Builder, Caravan Farm); Sunrise Betties (Set, ITSAZOO); and six seasons with the East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement). She studied at Studio 58 and UBC and is a member of CAEA and ADC659.

Jamie Sweeney

Assistant Lighting Designer

Jamie is a Canadian Vancouver-based theatre collaborator. She is a lighting designer, a production manager, a performer, a deviser, and an artist. She has a BFA in Theatre Production and Design from Simon Fraser University. Some companies she has worked with include Ballet BC, Bard on the Beach, Vancouver Opera, the Arts Club, rice & beans, vAct, and Neworld. Further credits can be found on her website: jamiesweeney.ca

Sophie Tang (she/her)

Lighting Designer

Sophie is a lighting and set designer working in theatre, opera, and dance. She is a Jessie Award winner and nominee, as well as an Ovation Award nominee. She has worked with companies including the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, Electric Company Theatre, the Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Vancouver Opera, Theatre Replacement, and more. Recent credits: The Three Musketeers (Citadel/Arts Club) and Choir Boy (Canadian Stage/Arts Club). Portfolio website: sophieyufeitang.com

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