Twelfth Night

I am not a student of Shakespeare or knowledgeable.

This play moved me to tears of joy and sadness.

I have never found Shakespeare comedies funny before but this performance was excellent and funny.

The stand out performances for me were Sinead Cusack and Felicity Kendal.

I always knew Cusack was an excellent actor but Kendal was a revelation.

Buy and enjoy.

This is one of the best of the BBC's productions, with fine performances all around. The production succeeds in conveying the melancholy aspects of the play as well as its many comic elements. (Although Trevor Peacock has only a moderately good singing voice, its plangency is perfectly suited to the rather dark songs that Feste intones.) I'll register only two minor complaints. First, there are a few inappositely articulated lines. For example, Robert Lindsay inaptly utters an exclamation as a question in III.iv.133, and Alec McCowen at III.iv.35-6 incorrectly addresses a riposte to Olivia that should have been addressed to Maria. Second, quite a few of Feste's lines have been excised. Some of the deletions are well-judged, but most of them (especially in III.i and V.i) are regrettable. Still, these two small points of dissatisfaction detract very little from my enjoyment of an excellent rendering of this play.

Alec McCowen is superbly well suited for the role of Malvolio, as he highlights the character's combination of comicalness, poignancy, and rebarbativeness. Robert Hardy is an outstanding Toby Belch, and Ronnie Stevens is equally good as Andrew Aguecheek. Trevor Peacock as Feste and Robert Lindsay as Fabian are splendid in their crucial supporting roles. As I've said above, my only regret about the performance by Peacock is that he was deprived of quite a few of his lines. Felicity Kendal lives up to one's expectations of her with a wonderful performance as Viola/Cesario, and Clive Arrindell (with whose work I have no other familiarity) is a fine Orsino. Everybody else in the cast likewise contributes admirably to this wonderful production.

The straightforward paths of tradition and attention to textual detail may not always lead to striking originality, but they can, as in this case, beget an appropriately humorous and a nearly definitive version.

Filmed in and around an Elizabethan manor house, this production has the grace and authenticity of its setting.

Feste is so believable that he seems to have come with the house, not the acting company.

Felicity Kendall is reasonably boyish as Cesario, but attractive enough that we never lose sight of Viola.

Toby has enough heft and charm to pass as Falstaff's younger brother.

Malvolio is stuffy without becoming a caricature; Andrew is a dolt with touches of pathos; and Olivia is beautiful enough to excite the jealousy of any Viola.

I've seen quite a bit of Shakespeare in my lifetime, but not as finely done as this one.

The definitive actress in this was Felicity Kendal... She played the twins parts elegantly and was incredible in her interpretation and presentation.

When I saw this, I promised myself I'd remember the name... It stuck with me... 7 years after this showing, I married... 10 years after viewing, the second "Felicity Kendal" was created and named...

If you haven't guessed, it's worth seeing. If anyone happens upon a tape of this or any other Felicity Kendal shows, feel free to contact me.

With almost no lines left out and only two scenes transposed, this is the most faithful adaptation of the play that I've found. This makes it ideal for a student who wants to study it, or a teacher who wants to teach it. While it's not as lively or as colorful as the version with Helena Bonham Carter, and while the actor who plays Viola is completely unbelievable, physically, as a male, this is nevertheless the only version to turn to when teaching Shakespeare to a class. Robert Lindsay, as Fabian, is a joy, Clive Arindelle's Orsino is sufficiently haughty for a duke, and Alec McCowen plays Malvolio to a Tee. Robert Hardy's Sir Toby pulls off drunkenness (his face even looks blotchy) and Sir Andrew (Ronnie Stevens) is a perfect fop, and quite ridiculous.

Other than Viola, the only performance I don't care for is Trevor Peacock's Feste. I think the actor playing the Fool should bring a great deal more energy and depth to the role, but everyone else is great.