Overview

As the generating force of its plot, Twelfth Night uses a device which has since become a staple in comedy: gender confusion. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian, are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, a country ruled by the melancholy Duke Orsino. The twins are separated and Viola is led to believe that her brother has perished. She disguises herself as a male under the name of Cesario and makes her way to the ducal court, where Orsino employs her as a messenger, to communicate his love to the reclusive lady, Olivia--who is not willing to return his affection. Olivia is also the target of two other romantic schemes. Her pompous steward, Malvolio, has persuaded himself that Olivia has fallen for him but is too diffident to reveal her passion. Her dissipated uncle, Sir Toby Belch, has plans to set up a match for her with Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a feeble-minded squire. Viola/Cesario falls in love with Orsino and Olivia with Cesario, but all of the parties are obliged to hide their feelings. Having survived the shipwreck, Sebastian now appears on the scene and contracts a secret marriage with Olivia, who believes him to be Cesario. In the final act, Viola reveals her true identity ... Featuring Emma Faye as Viola, Kendra Murray as Olivia, Cate Barratt as Sir Toby Belch, Alan Weyman as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Lillian Rachel as Malvolio, Marty Krz as Feste and Laura Richcreek as Orsino. Also featuring the voices of Claudia Anglade, Linda Barrans, PJ Morgan, Denis Daly and John Burlinson. Songs arranged by Alan Weyman and Marty Krz Audio edited by Denis Daly Text kindly provided by playshakespeare.com

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Reviews

"""Twelfth Night is perhaps the most graceful and harmonious comedy Shakespeare ever wrote. It is certainly that in which all the notes the poet strikes, the note of seriousness and of raillery, of passion, of tenderness, and of laughter, blend in the richest and fullest concord. It is like a symphony in which no strain can be dispensed with, or like a picture veiled in a golden haze, into which all the colours resolve themselves."" -- ""George Brandes, author of William Shakespeare: A Critical Study"" ""Romantic pathos, as in Much Ado About Nothing, is the dominant note of the main plot of Twelfth Night, but Shakespeare neutralises the tone of sadness by his mirthful portrayal of Malvolio, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Fabian, the clown Feste, and Maria, all of whom are his own creations. The ludicrous gravity of Malvolio proved exceptionally popular on the stage."" -- ""Sidney Lee, author of A Life of Shakespeare"""

Author Information

"William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time, and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today. Emma Faye, a.k.a. ""The Clean Reads Queen,"" is an audiobook narrator and actor with a passion for bringing stories to life. She specializes in YA, sweet romance, fantasy, inspiring nonfiction, and anything clean. She has twenty-plus years of acting experience and has voiced over thirty audiobooks. Recording in her professional home studio, Emma dives deep into the characters and stories to bring them to life in a fresh and captivating way. She puts her heart into every project and it comes across when you are listening to her audiobooks. Emma also runs a local community theater, moderates a support group for women going through betrayal trauma, and is a proud cat mom of four kitties. Kendra Murray is an in-demand narrator with a background in film and stage acting. After a career in communications and a life dabbling in theatre, Cate Barratt now spends her time narrating audiobooks--from mysteries to dramatic readings, from comedies to history books. These can be found on Audible, iTunes, Amazon, and more. Lillian Rachel is a talented British voiceover artist who utilizes multiple accents in her work. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. Marty Krz is an actor, musician, film maker, and audiobook narrator, located in Philadelphia, USA. Linda Barrans is a British narrator with a fondness for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. Denis Daly is an audiobook narrator and codirector of Voices of Today, an Australian spoken word production house. John Burlinson is an American audiobook narrator. Jennie Litt is a voice actor, singer, performer, author, playwright, director, cabaret performance coach, and lyricist. Her audiobook repertoire includes thriller, literary fiction, drama, comedy, and medical, and in 2021-22 she narrated in American, BBC British, south London, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, German, and Israeli accents. No stranger to the recording booth, she has recorded two full-length CDs of original cabaret songs with her husband, pianist/composer David Alpher: Two Apples (2014) and Songs For Sapiosexuals (2019). Her works for the theater have been performed at the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Circle Rep (NYC). She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, teenaged daughter, and dog."

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