1 commentFort Worth — What an appropriate time of the year to discuss the subject of love. A time when flowers, chocolates, cards and fancy dinner reservations fall from the sky like ambrosia from the gods. But, what do all of these things mean? Why is it necessary to bestow tokens of affection upon those we wish to impress?
Because love is a game, that’s why. And perhaps no one in history understood that better or realized it more fully in theater than William Shakespeare, whose Twelfth Night is stalking after that lofty concept of love at Stolen Shakespeare Guild.
Like all Shakespeare comedies, more or less, the genre designation should actually read romantic comedy, for no one mused more colorfully than the Bard on the trappings and puzzling nature of love. And in Twelfth Night it all begins with a shipwreck, a not so subtle metaphorical beginning.
Young Viola (Kristin Payne) has washed up on shore from said shipwreck and been separated from her twin brother Sebastian (Michael Reed), who she presumes to be dead. Viola soon falls for the gallant Duke Orsino (Thomas Fletcher) and decides to pose as a page to get close to him.
Orsino however is in love with Olivia (Morgan Laure Garrett), who is in bereavement from the death of her father and brother and refuses to see anyone. Not one to take no for an answer, Orsino sends Viola, now under the guise of the male page Cesario, to plead his case to Olivia.
Still unimpressed by Orsino, Olivia quickly falls in love with the disguised Viola/Cesario leaving the poor girl to desperately thwart the lady’s advances. And to make matters worse, it turns out Sabastain is not dead and a fun round of mistaken identities ensues, naturally leaving everyone with a happy ending. This is a comedy, after all.
It’s impossible not to notice in Shakespeare’s comedies that no one ever seems to have the ability to simply tell someone they’re in love with them. There is always some game, always some disguise, always a game of cat and mouse or some such other device. It’s entertaining, but one is left to wonder exactly what Shakes’ thought of love.
Twelfth Night does merit compliments, for among Shakespeare’s comedies, it is undoubtedly one of the funniest. This, no doubt, is helped along by the inclusion of two of his funnier characters, Belch (Brad DeBorde) and Feste the Fool (Kirk Corley).
Belch, teamed up with Maria (Laura Jones) and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Billy Betsill) form a debaucherously mischievous triumvirate that thwarts Olivia’s steward Malvolio (Allen Walker). Belch is a larger-than-life drunkard whose pugnacious regard for formality lends a grotesque yet everyman regard to. And to that end, DeBorde clearly has a lot of fun making the man as offensive as possible, with some of the funnier moments of the play as a result.
Feste is one of Shakes’ better fools and has the added distinction of operating with more freedom than a traditional fool. This much is established when early on he has to talk Olivia out of punishing him for being absent from the court without permission. After establishing this point, Feste moves freely between the courts and takes part in the fooling of Malvolio. Corley is cunning as the fool. Feste, though always the consummate fool, has a more melancholy side that flashes in some of his songs and during the fooling of Malvolio who had earlier embarrassed him. Corley makes distinguishing these moments possible with a carefully choreographed performance that still retains an air of spontaneity. Amongst a talented cast, he leads the way.
Not to be outdone, Garrett attacks the role of Olivia with reckless abandon. Clearly a damaged woman, grieving the loss of her father and brother, Olivia is a woman on the edge. So it stands to reason that she might try to find the 17th century English equivalent of ice cream and reruns of The Golden Girls in the form of a love interest. Someone she can pour all her misplaced emotion into so as to forget the heartache. This has tragic character written all over it, despite its presence in a comedy. And so when Garrett maniacally fixes her gaze upon Cesario, every cultural image of punch drunk obsessiveness builds to the service and erupts in a heated, albeit one-sided, courtship that is absolutely hilarious to behold. And that’s all a tribute to Garrett’s spirited performance.
And that’s a theme in this production. Even in the "straight man" roles, the cast is always able to find the comedy. Both Payne and Reed play the befuddled twins excellently, with understated reactions to a world that is just happening to them; two people along for the ride. Add in the alacrity of Feste’s wit and song, the onomatopoeic nature of Belch’s name and the lusty flirtations of Olivia and you get one giant comedic treat.
Directors Jason and Lauren Morgan really struck a comedic chord in this production, and that’s hard to do. Comedy is hard anyway. Shakespearean comedy is even harder. But the Morgans have assembled a cast that deciphers the inherent humor in all that Middle English language. It’s pervasive throughout the show. This cast understands the comedy, and it’s genuinely funny.
Love may be a game but Shakespeare understood that it’s a fun game. And this one certainly is that. 
