If music be the food of love, play on! On the evenings of December 13th and 14th, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE) in Darlington opened its doors to play-lovers and Shakespeare enthusiasts - all of whom were treated to an incredible production of his popular comedy ‘Twelfth Night’ with a vibrant 1980s setting and talented cast of actors. 

 

Organised and directed by one of the college’s faculty members Julie Ashmore, and performed by the college’s student drama club ‘The Stanhope Players’, the play follows the story of separated twin Viola who loses her brother Sebastian on a shipwreck and journeys to the land of Illyria, putting on a completely different persona and finding herself in the midst of a very dramatic love triangle. 

 

I went to watch the play on its closing night and got to witness the brilliance of the production and the talent of the young group of actors first-hand. I particularly enjoyed the plethora of 80s hits that were played in between each scene and give my praises to whoever was in charge of the music - a sentiment that I’m certain is shared by the 70+ people in the audience that night who were all seen to be humming along to the playlist. Furthermore, I was enthralled by the rendition of one of several songs in the script that was performed by the fool (Feste) to Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’! All in all, I think it’s safe to say that the audience were very impressed with the evident A+ effort put into the performance by both the cast and crew, as every person in attendance was in an uproar of applause and cheers when the final scene came to a close. 

 

Amongst the frenzy of post-performance celebrations, I had the opportunity to speak to one of the cast members Emma Ransome - who gave a dazzling performance as Olivia - and ask about her time preparing for the role and how she thought the performance went on the night: “Initially we had just hoped to better our understanding of the play for our English Literature A-level, but it has become much more than that and the cast is now such a close family..The final performance was incredible, the audience gave us such a great energy and we all had the best time!” 

 

To conclude, this production of Shakespeare’s comedy ‘Twelfth Night’ by QE’s drama club ‘The Stanhope Players’ captured the hearts of the audience members and left everyone admiring the dedication and hard work displayed by all those involved. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance; from the 80s music and the costumes suited perfectly to match the personality of each character, to the poster of ‘Playboy of the Year’ Duke Orsino and the Yorkshire-accented Sir Topas! I look forward to any future productions by this talented group of people.