Shakespeare, the gender bender.
At Bakersfield College’s Outdoor Theater, the Kern Shakespeare Festival will perform “Twelfth Night,” one of two cross-dressing plays by William Shakespeare. Performances will be Oct. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10,11.
The play will be directed by KSF veteran Bob Kempf, who says the stage and costumes will resemble the Napoleonic era. Only one Shakespeare play will be shown this season due to the sabbatical of theater professor Randy Messick.
The play begins in Illyria with Duke Orsino (Andrew Ansolabehere) seen pining for the love of the Lady Olivia (Christina Varvel), who has vowed not to marry for seven years because of the death of her brother.
In the next scene, Viola (Lacey Maples) makes an appearance on Illyria’s shore having survived a shipwreck. She makes a decision to disguise herself as a eunuch named “Cesario” and serve Illyria’s Duke Orsino.
Viola does not know that her brother Sebastian (Matthew Borton) has also survived the shipwreck and has made it to Illyria’s shore.
Meanwhile, man-shunning Olivia has problems with her constantly inebriated uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Bob Kempf), who is often seen in the company of the silly knight, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Ronnie Hargrave), who wants to marry Olivia. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, the clown Feste (Jay Campbell) and Olivia’s rough-and-tumble handmaid/bouncer Maria (Amy Hall) join forces to humiliate the pretentious Malvolio (Ron Warren).
“‘Twelfth Night’ is Shakespeare’s funniest play,” said Kempf. “Even the romantic parts are funny.”
Michael Flachmann, professor of English literature at Cal State Bakersfield, dramaturge for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and perennial KSF dramaturge said the play is about self-discovery and acquiring fresh insights.
“Viola gains a different perspective of the world as a man,” Flachmann said.
Thomas Brill, a cast member who plays a captain and a priest in the production and works as a lawyer for the local firm Young and Nichols, agrees that the play is about self-discovery.
“This is a great comedy about identity. It is not the most original, but it is masterfully written,” he said.