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SHAKESPEARE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Thomas Hall (Fabian). Gerard Bester (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) and Gary D 'Alessandro (Sir Toby Belch) in Joseph Ribiero's production of Twelfth Night /or the Wits School of Dramatic Art.

order of the Illyrian court. Orsino chooses to define himself as an Actaeon figure, but his rage at the suspected treachery of Cesario/ Viola shockingly indicates that he is only too willing to set the "fell and cruel hounds" of passion on those who offend him. Yet, Twelfth Night does assert that destructive self-obsession can be banished. The generous, self-aware love of a Viola unlocks the prison of Orsino's narcissism. The unions that conclude the play offer the only available protection from the unceasing rain of human suffering, even if both the deservedly excluded (Malvolio), and the sadly isolated (Feste and Antonio) are denied such protection. That severest of critics, John Simon, once denounced Anouilh for creating his plays out of"rose and black madder" (Acid Test, 1963, I05). Simon's gibe can, very easily, be seen as praise of the highest order, and his phrase provides, I think, a perfect description of the blend of sophisticated wit, broad comedy, and sorrowful insight that is Twelfth Night. Ribeiro's production chose to emphasise the rose - audiences rightly shook with merriment at the merest appearance of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew - but the black of Shakespeare's exploration of the tragic possibilities of love was by no means forgotten. In Peter Gill's 1974 production of Twelfth Night at Stratford-on-Avon, the set was dominated by a wall-painting of Narcissus enraptured by his fatal reflection. Without choosing one dominant image, Ribeiro wittily and perceptively allowed self-love and indulgence to be consistently expressed in the details of his production. The opening tableau was both visually alluring, and sharply appropriate. Paul Roumanoff and Lyn Miles's set featured a large sun umbrella adorned with cupids, a chaise longue and a row of white pillars against which a richly dressing-gowned Orsino drooped, propped by a dramatically outstretched arm. Sorrowful, aristocratic love posed among the comforts denied to other less privileged sufferers. In Olivia's household, haute-couture mourning preyailed: panniered black gowns and black lace commodes gave way to zebra-striped overskirts looped to reveal white gowns

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embroidered with those ubiquitous cupids. Mistresses and attendants looked equally seductive in both the severe and the modified styles of mourning. From the outset, there was no doubt that these trappings of woe were designed to attract, not banish, desire. Indeed, the costumes in this production deserved special praise not only for their attractiveness, but also for the wit with which they were used to highlight the ambivalent mood of the play. If my eyes were not in error, Mr Ribeiro chose to combine elements of the Restoration and the mid-eighteenth century in his costumes. The men's full-skirted coats and ribboned bag-wigs, and the ladies' patches and panniers suggested the Age of Reason. On the other hand, the commodes and cut-back gowns, and the curling perukes of Orsino and Malvolio were obviously nods in the direction of the fashions of the court of the last Stuarts. Such a blend of styles suggested a union of the refined and lustful, the elegant and the flamboyant- a cleverly appropriate combination for Twelfth Night. Joseph Ribeiro's acute eye for the most felicitous movement and staging ensured that the play's more elevated tragicomedy and its boisterous farce were both given their due. As Orsino reclined, languidly intrigued, Viola, leaning forward on the chaise, delivered the agonising "My father had a daughter loved a man" (2.4.104-115) speech directly to the audience with a wide-eyed intensity which left one in no doubt of the difference between Orsino's affected anguish and the real article. Malvolio's feelings, in contrast, were rightly presented as risible. From ramrod stiff domestic tyranny, he degenerated into ungainly lechery, making lustful grabs at the appalled Olivia: foolish prissiness became equally foolish salaciousness at the least convincing hint of hope. The presentation of Malvolio's reading of the letter used broad comedy with particularly sharp effect. As Malvolio postured, misinterpreted and dreamed, the conspirators were ostentatiously busy behind him. They made angry dashes towards him, shifted concealing scenery, sniggered and doubled up with mockery, and scurried back into hiding. Such movements could not fail to amuse the dourest of audiences, but, at the same time, they served to emphasise the saddening point that the "dark room" of narcissism blinds one to even the most blatant gulling. Some of the most effective touches in the production were certainly not original, but their success justified the repetition. I remember that Terry Hands's production of Twelfth Night (Aldwych: 1979) gained one of its heartiest laughs from Olivia's delivery of "Most wonderful" (5.1.206)"when confronted by Viola/Cesario and Sebastian. Kate Nicholls purred the phrase with a relish that suggested doubled pleasures could be expected from this extraordinary duplication. Mr Ribeiro's Olivia used this delivery with equal success. Malvolio's suffering in confinement was memorably conveyed by the twisting and stretching of his hands through a trapdoor. The contrast between the continued pomposity of his statements- "I think nobly ofthe soul, and no way approve his opinion" (4.2.40)- and the frightened writhing of his body poignantly indicated the persecuted man beneath the overbearing facade. When assessing students' performances, one is often tempted to indulge in head-patting praise to cover up for deficiencies. In the case of Ribeiro's production, such condescension was unnecessary. What was good was good by any standards; what was bad was inexperienced or over-enthusiastic, and could, therefore, change. Lindsey Orbach's Viola skilfully avoided the two pits into which so many actresses playing the role topple: presenting Viola as a tomboy romp •.o.r plaintiyely portrari~g her as Ophelia in drag. Ms Orbach had more than enough spmt and Wit - tart Wit m her exchanges with the besotted Olivia- but the passionate longing in her voice and gaze also rendered her love for Orsino movingly real. I thought it a .mistake to play"