A group of people on the stage looking in the same direction

Twelfth Night

PLOT SUMMARY

Written by William Shakespeare

Written in around 1601–1602

Comedy

Key characters include Viola, Sebastian, Olivia, Malvolio, Feste, Maria, and Orsino

If music be the food of love, play on. (Orsino, Act 1, Scene 1)

Viola washes up on the shore of Illyria after a shipwreck. Believing her twin brother Sebastian is dead, she disguises herself as a man named Cesario to find work. She becomes a servant to Duke Orsino, who is in love with Olivia.

Orsino sends Cesario to woo Olivia, but Olivia falls in love with Cesario instead. Meanwhile, Olivia’s servants play a trick on Malvolio, making him believe Olivia loves him. Malvolio acts strangely, leading Olivia to think he is mad.

In this comic tale of mistaken identity and romance, will everything turn out right in the end?

MEET THE CHARACTERS

PAST PRODUCTIONS

2002 – Mark Rylance starred as Olivia for the first time at the Middle Temple Hall, and then brought Twelfth Night to the Globe alongside director Tim Carroll. In 2003 the cast went on tour in the USA. In 2012, Mark Rylance revived the role of Olivia at the Globe. The production transferred to Broadway in 2013, winning two Tony awards (and nominated for five more)

2017 – Emma Rice’s take on Twelfth Night was a glittering modern-dress spectacle

2019 – Shakespeare’s Globe’s Touring Ensemble performed the comedy at the Globe

2021 – Director Sean Holmes’ Americana-infused version of the play starred Michelle Terry

2023 – ‘For One Night Only’, a special one-off performance

2023 – CBeebies Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe (available on iPlayer)

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOP THE RANGE

TWELFTH NIGHT BLOGS

Twelfth Night 2012 What you will Blogs and Features card
Plays, Poems & New Writing 

What you will: gender fluidity in Twelfth Night

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Claire Van Kampen and the musicicans of Shakespeare's Globe
Globe Theatre 

Music at Shakespeare's Globe: Experimenting with Original Practices

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Make up Mark Rylance Twelfth Night Shakespeare's Globe
Globe Theatre 

Original Practices at Shakespeare's Globe

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