Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare. Comedy is the use of humour in the performing arts. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The play is named after the Twelfth Night holiday. It was written to be performed as part of Twelfth Night celebrations and first performed at Candlemas, February 2, which was then the culmination of the long winter feast, at Middle Temple Hall, London by Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Twelfth Night is a holiday January 5 marked by some branches of Christianity, marking the 12th and final night of the Christmas season, namely the eve before twelfth day or January 6, the Epiphany celebration to commemorate the adoration of the Magi. ... Candlemas is the last festival in the Christian year that is dated by reference to Christmas; subsequent holidays are calculated with reference to Easter, so Candlemas marks the end of the Christmas and Epiphany season. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court around the Royal Courts of Justice in London. ... Italic text St. ... The Kings Men was the playing company that William Shakespeare worked for throughout most of his career. ...

The story

Like so many of Shakespeare's comedies, this one centres on mistaken identity. The leading character, Viola, is shipwrecked in the shores of Illyria (today Albania) during the opening scenes. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes dead. Masquerading as a castrated boy under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, and unsuccessfully uses Viola as an intermediary. Shakespearean comedies are one of the three (sometimes four) genres of plays by William Shakespeare. ... Castration, gelding, neutering, orchiectomy or orchidectomy is any action, surgical, chemical or otherwise, by which a biological male loses use of the testes. ...

Orsino and Viola by Frederick Richard Pickersgill

Olivia, believing Viola to be male, falls in love with her. Viola, in turn, falls in love with the Duke, who believes that Viola is male. When Sebastian arrives on the scene, confusion ensues. Mistaking Sebastian for Viola, Olivia asks him to marry her. The play ends in a declaration of marriage between the Duke and Viola, and Olivia and Sebastian, though the marriage is never actually seen. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Marriage is a relationship and bond between individuals that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

Much of the play is taken up with the comic subplot, in which several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous head steward Malvolio believe that the lady Olivia wishes to marry him. It involves Olivia's uncle Sir Toby Belch, her would-be suitor the silly squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek, her handmaiden Maria, and her father's favorite fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew disturb the peace of their lady's house by keeping late hours and perpetually singing catches at the very top of their voices. Sir Toby even attempts to provoke Sir Andrew (whose hair "hangs like flax upon a distaff") to make a sexual overture towards the prickly Maria. A subplot is a series of connected actions within a work of narrative that function separately from the main plot. ... The terms steward or stewardess can refer to a number of different professional roles. ... A jester or fool is a specific type of clown mostly associated with the Middle Ages. ... A catch refers to music written for three voices, sung as a round. ...

Although this is one of Shakespeare's most popular and funniest comedies, it has a dark side, as the behaviour of Sir Toby and Feste towards Malvolio becomes increasingly cruel towards the end. Malvolio is locked in a dungeon and forced to swear his submission to the heretical doctrines of Pythagoras. Malvolio departs in a bad humor, vowing revenge "on the whole pack of you." Orsino dispatches a servant to attempt to placate him. The dungeon of Bothwell Castle seen from the Great Hall A dungeon (derived from the Old French donjon, from the Latin dominus, lord), in its original medieval usage, was the keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final defensive position the garrison could retreat to when outer... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Pythagoras (582 BC – 496 BC, Greek: Πυθαγόρας) was an Ionian mathematician and philosopher, known best for formulating the Pythagorean theorem. ...

Film and television adaptions

There have been a number of notable adaptions of the play, including two recent versions, both of which modernise the setting. The first, a 1996 film adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn, was set in the 1920s and starred Helena Bonham-Carter as Olivia, and featured Mel Smith as Sir Toby, Richard E. Grant as Sir Andrew and Ben Kingsley as Feste. The second, a 2003 telemovie adapted and directed by Tim Supple, was set in the present day. It featured David Troughton as Sir Toby, and was notable for its multi-ethnic cast. Among other interesting touches, its portrayal of Viola and Sebastian's arrival in Illyria is reminiscent of news footage of asylum seekers. Also, an upcoming film entitled She's the Man modernizes the story, as 10 Things I Hate About You did to The Taming of the Shrew. This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ... Sir Trevor Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a theatre and film director. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly... Helena Bonham Carter (born May 26, 1966; surname: Bonham Carter) is a British actress renowned for her portrayal of pre- and early 20th century female characters, particularly in Merchant Ivory films. ... Mel Smith Mel Smith (born December 3, 1952) British actor, film director, writer, producer born in London. ... Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen on May 5, 1957) is a British actor, born in Mbabane, Swaziland. ... Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Bhanji on Friday, December 31, 1943) is an English actor of Indian (Gujarati) and Russian-Jewish descent. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tim Supple is an English theatre and opera director, with a reputation for breathing new life into familiar stories. ... David Troughton (born June 9, 1950 in Hampstead, North London, England) is a respected Shakespearean actor on the British stage. ... 10 Things I Hate About You is an American romantic comedy film, released March 31, 1999. ... Taming of the Shrew by Augustus Egg The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ...

Others

When the play was first performed, all female parts were played by men or boys, but it has been the practice for some centuries now to cast women or girls in the female parts in all plays. The Men's Company at Shakespeare's Globe, Bankside has produced many notable, highly popular all-male performances, and a highlight of their 2002 season was Twelfth Night, with the Globe's artistic director Mark Rylance playing the part of Olivia. This season was preceded, in February, by a performance of the play by the same company at Middle Temple Hall, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the play's premiere, at the same venue. This article is about the Globe Theatre of Shakespeare, both the original and its modern reconstruction. ... Bankside is an area in Southwark, London, on the southern bank of the River Thames. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

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