Twelfth Night Teachers' Notes
Twelfth Night or 'What You Will' by William Shakespeare was likely penned around 1600-1601. It did not appear in published form until 1623 in the First Folio. The first recorded performance of the play was on 2 February 1602 at Candlemas, the official end of the Christmas celebration period.
The ‘twelfth night’ refers to the literal twelfth night after Christmas Day and the play represents the kind of revelry and merriment that was associated with Christmas festivities, where self-indulgence reigns supreme.
The play itself is a comedy based on the premise of mistaken identity, where instead of facial masks being used to obscure the truth, a complex gender-bending occurs so the brother and sister twins (Sebastian and Viola) become embroiled in some passionate (and naughty) commedia dell arte-styled fun. The commedia dell arte tradition of master and servant comedy is employed to full effect in this play where high-class lovers are mistaken for servants, and servants act above their station.
These Teacher’s Notes have been compiled especially to accompany the USQ Shakespeare in the Park Festival’s 2010 production of Twelfth Night. Directed by well-known theatre aficionado, Lewis Jones, the play is a wild romp through a 1960s-styled design (courtesy of Designer Carolyn Taylor-Smith). The notes aim to provide interesting information for teachers and students about some of the conventions of this play on the stage and historically.
This set of Teachers' Notes has been developed by Toby Warburton and Jasmine Fischer in consultation with Dr Janet McDonald – Head, USQ School of Creative Arts.