
twelfth night
The Court Theatre | 9 August – 6 September
Prepare for a wild ride with Shakespeare’s riotous rom-com, where laughter and bewilderment go hand in hand
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night arrives at The Court Theatre with all the mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and sharp wit audiences love—brought to life with modern dress, contemporary style, and a spirit of playful mischief.
Performed in full Shakespearean text, Twelfth Night is a vibrant rom-com packed with humour, heart, and timeless insights into human nature. The production combines a fast-paced script, an ensemble of dynamic performers, and original music composed by cast member Hester Ullyart, who plays Feste.
Directed by The Court Theatre’s artistic director Alison Walls, this production is set in a world pulsing with colour, music, and movement—a feast for the senses brought to life by a knockout cast of Aotearoa’s finest.
Audiences will meet twins Viola and Sebastian, shipwrecked and separated, as they navigate a world of disguise, love triangles, and comic chaos.
Stranded on the coast of Illyria, the clever and resourceful Viola, separated from her twin brother Sebastian, disguises herself as a man and enters the service of Duke Orsino.
As she navigates her new life, she becomes entangled in a whirlwind love triangle where identity, passion, and gender blur and collide. Bursting with vitality and romance, Twelfth Night introduces one of Shakespeare’s most captivating heroines, who matches wits with an array of memorable characters, from the lovesick Olivia to the puritanical Malvolio.
This play is a rich tapestry of comic courtship, mistaken identities, and fluid romance. With its ingenious central plot involving twins of different genders, and its delightfully funny side plots, Twelfth Night serves up a feast of laughter, poignant moments of grief, and the joy of unexpected revelations.