TWELFTH NIGHT

About the show

The play begins with a shipwreck that washes the young Viola ashore in the dreamland of Illyria. Whether her twin brother Sebastian survived is far from certain. Overwhelmed by grief and seeking protection from potential dangers, the survivor reinvents herself as the page Cesario: Under this false name, she enters the service of Duke Orsino, who pines for the wealthy Countess Olivia. But Olivia wants nothing to do with Orsino's advances and rejects the melancholic. Instead, she succumbs to the charms of Viola, who woos Olivia on Orsino's behalf, and in whom Olivia recognizes a man, Cesario. Viola, in turn, is in love with Orsino… Who can possibly make sense of it all? Besides the lovelorn characters, who are connected by a subtle game of deception, self-deception, and mutual projections, by hopes and imaginings, numerous silly and eccentric figures appear, lending the play its unique blend of humor and melancholy: the perpetually drunk Sir Toby Belch, the bumbling Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is also courting Olivia, the bear hunter Fabian, the wise fool Feste, and the vain steward Malvolio, who is deceived by a forged love letter and exposed to ridicule. Everyone in this world is searching. Everyone misjudges reality. And above all, there is an awareness of transience, for even the most beautiful game eventually comes to an end. The play is directed by artistic director Bernadette Sonnenbichler, who bids farewell to the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus after ten years with "Twelfth Night" and will become artistic director of the Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra.