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GALLERY: Dewdney Players put a twist on Shakespearian comedy

Running May 12 to 27, 'Twelfth Night' flips the table on all roles and offers a refreshing mix of humour and wit.

The Dewdney Players performance of Twelfth Night opened Friday.

Running May 12 to 27 at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre is Twelfth Night, a lesser-known comedy by the classic English playwright which, centering on a female main character gender-swapping to gain work, features love, loss and no shortage of bombastic buffoonery. 

But wait, there’s more. 

On top of the main character’s gender-bending ruse, director Katie Fournell opted for all characters to be cast opposite, so male-presenting roles are cast by female-presenting actors, and vice-versa. 

“It’s going to be absolutely hilarious,” said Safia Elder, playing the role of Sir Toby Belch.  

“I think it’s actually right where it’s supposed to be, in terms of how the play plays around with the story, and it’s also a really fun challenge for everyone.”

At the heart of the story is Viola, who after surviving a shipwreck in which she loses her twin brother Sebastian, disguises herself as a man named Cesario for the opportunity to work for Duke Orsino of Illyria. 

The Duke, in turn, holds an unrequited love after being rejected by the Countess Olivia, for whom he sends the disguised Viola (Cesario, if you’re following) to court for him. 

This backfires as the Countess Olivia becomes attracted to Cesario and love triangle hilarity ensues.

Contrasted to Shakespeare's more well-known tragedies, the story packs varying flavours of humour, tomfoolery, and wit.

“It’s been so fun to see everyone outside of their comfort zone and exploring things they probably haven't had to do before,” said Elder.  

“Physicality alone is an entire thing, like for a man who needs to sit like a woman, or a woman who needs to sit like a man, especially for some of the characters who are a little less proper. 

“Like Sir Toby for example: I found myself ‘manspreading’ a lot.” 

Getting to explore these absurd characters has been a welcome challenge for Elder, a stage regular with several plays under her belt, Dewdney and otherwise. 

“Sir Toby Belch is the uncle of the lady of the house, the Countess Olivia, and my best description of him is he’s the fun drunk uncle,” she said, adding she labelled her scenes with the level of drunkenness her character would be at.  

“It’s very much on the nose, very much in the name and very much not my typecast, which is very much the appeal.” 

As such, filling out her role, as with the rest of the cast, has been a delightful change, even with stage having a history of gender flipping dating back centuries. 

“It’s been so fun to see people do that and I think it was a great idea. I love that Katie decided to do that,” said Elder, adding she was also excited to take on her first Shakespeare performance. 

Playing another absurd Sir is Kelly Kozak, a relative newcomer to Okotoks and Dewdney Players. 

“I’m playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek, whom I’ve absolutely fallen in love with,” Kozak said. 

“When you’re reading a script and you get cast in a certain role and you start to research and delve into who this character is or what choices you want to make, but this process was a bit different for me because I felt like I saw him pretty clearly.” 

The Las Vegas transplant has taken joy in bringing her character to life and exploring his idiosyncrasies. 

“Things just naturally develop in the process and for me this is probably one of the most fun roles I’ve played in my career,” said Kozak, describing her character as a walking contradiction. 

“Andrew, he’s a knight, but basically he’s only a knight in title, and what I mean by that is when you think of a stereotypical knight, you think of someone who’s very strong and brave and has an air of confidence to them. 

“Those are all things that Andrew is not, quite the opposite, if you think of somebody who was given a title because he was in the right place at the right time, or his family had money. He’s far, far from anything anybody considers to be a knight, which is hilarious.” 

This role, and the play as a whole, Kozak said, lets the comical side of Shakespeare shine. 

“Shakespeare does this thing sometimes where he makes a knight a complete coward and he makes the fool the smartest person in the show,” she said. 

While audiences may be overly familiar with the more common tales of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, Elder said Twelfth Night may be a refreshing change for Shakespeare fans and newcomers alike. 

“If people aren't into Shakespeare before they come see the show, I think they might change their minds,” said Elder. 

Shows run at 7:30 p.m. on May 12-13, 18-20, and 25-27 with matinees at 2 p.m. on May 20 and 27. 

For tickets and information visit dewdneyplayers.com or Showpass.com.

 

Originally published online 05/05/2023 5:00 PM, updated 05/12/2023 9:00 PM

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