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Show # 6

Elmwood School

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Twelfth Night

Director: Ms.Rebecca Benson

Assistant Director: Camilla Thomson

Bridget O’Neill, Critic
Holy Trinity Catholic High School

Will love conquer all? Or will the madness of mistaken identities leave us all in stitches? Welcome to Illyria, where unrequited love rules in Elmwood School’s impassioned production of Twelfth Night.

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With this production set in the Roaring Twenties in Illyria, New York, Twelfth Night follows the comical story of Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man named Cesario to secure a job after being shipwrecked and losing her brother as a result. While working for Duke Orsino in her male disguise, Viola falls deeply in love with him. But here’s the twist: Duke Orsino is infatuated with the beautiful Olivia Madden, who becomes enamoured with Viola, mistaking her for a man. As misunderstandings and comedic situations unravel, this complicated love triangle explores themes of love, mistaken identity, and the absurdity of human emotions.

Through the collaboration of colourful costumes, dynamic set design, and lively music, Twelfth Night sparkled with a remarkable set and characters fueled with emotion. From foolish behaviour to signature squabbles, this show’s atmosphere successfully embraced comical aspects from start to finish. The mix of comedy, romance, and mistaken identities delivered by an organized cast and crew elevated this Shakespearean classic to a mesmerizing performance that is as captivating as it is unforgettable.

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The deceiving Viola, portrayed by Tess Kowal, was compelling. Embodying quick wit and determination, Kowal’s performance as Viola made for a multifaceted character, presenting a journey through self-discovery and transformation. Kowal’s seamless line delivery and serious manner highlighted the role, which did not go unrecognized.

YiFou (Mia) Cheng’s performance as the pompous Malvolio was very professional. Embodying a strict and serious character, Cheng successfully embraced self-righteousness through impressive voice projection and upright physicality. As Maria, Rowyn Pratte maintained excellent energy throughout the show and did an exceptional job of playing off other characters. Pratte was consistent with mannerisms and had genuine facial expressions to highlight the clever role of Maria. From balancing hats to mocking Malvolio, Lorrie Whiten’s role as the comical Sir Andrew Aguecheek highlighted the character. When paired with Toby Belch, played by Freida Kaplan-Myrth, the inseparable drunken duo bounced off each other with electrifying chemistry. Madelaine Delaney as the quick-witted and sassy Olivia Madden embodied exaggerated facial expressions and stage presence to always get a point across. Zara Kochar’s impressive performance as the Club Singer struck the production with melodious singing to set the mood and convey deep emotions within the play. As the striking Duke Orsino, Hannah Vermeij’s dominant presence made for a commanding stand-out character with a touch of intimidation and superiority. Usha Patterson’s memorable performance as Fabienne allowed for a humorous performance through comedic interactions and awkward situations, such as when Patterson could be seen hiding behind a tree to avoid Malvolio.

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The play employed a range of technical elements to enhance the storytelling. Elaborate set designs, props, and vintage costume choices established the setting and time period. Additionally, authentic music played by the students set the mood and accentuated key moments. The use of lighting played a crucial role in establishing the atmosphere and highlighting dramatic moments in the production. The hair and makeup were appropriate to the time period and enhanced each character’s personality. Thanks to Temi Adekeye, the choreography shaped much of the entertainment, including a couple of dances throughout the play.

With mistaken identities entangled in a complicated love triangle, Elmwood School’s enthralling production of Twelfth Night proved that love can be unpredictable but always finds a way to lead us to where we truly belong.

Miriam Chartrand, Critic
Holy Trinity Catholic High School

“If music be the food of love, play on!” The music filled the theatre as Elmwood School’s Roaring Twenties twist on William Shakespeare’s classic comedy transported the audience to a New York speakeasy.

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Twelfth Night follows the dramatic tales unfolding within 1920s Illyria, New York, following a shipwreck that leaves twins, Viola and Sebastian stranded. Under the assumption her brother is dead, Viola takes up her brother’s identity, under the name Cesario, and begins working for the Duke Orsino. As time progresses, feelings appear between many characters, creating complex and intriguing love triangles.

Tess Kowal gave an impressive performance in the role of Viola, fulfilling the incredible difficulties of portraying a character, who is also playing another character. Kowal had excellent energy on the stage, using both physicality and tone to create two distinct personalities for Viola and the persona of Cesario, while still maintaining the distinct characteristics of Viola, perfectly balancing the complex role.

YiFou (Mia) Cheng in the role of Malvolio gave an entertaining and hilarious performance. With a powerful voice and strong facial expressions, Cheng greatly helped elevate this already fantastic production, using timing and emotion to convey thoughts better than words do. Beyond being very entertaining, Cheng perfectly executed the demanding emotional requirements of this role, strongly performing the slow and saddening descent into madness throughout the latter acts of the play. Through an empathetic use of voice, and a heartbreaking use of body language, but also incredible facial expressions and a commanding voice, Cheng made an impactful performance all around.

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A show as iconic and complex as Twelfth Night requires strong comedic characters to go along with it, Lorrie Whiten in the role of Sir Andrew Aguecheek, strongly exemplifies this. Whiten easily commanded the stage, and the entire theatre, every time the character stepped on stage. From an impressive balancing act of a tall stack of hats to a comedically dramatic breakdown, Sir Andrew Aguecheek was a delightful character in the production. Furthermore, Whiten’s physical comedy was utterly mesmerising, and beyond entertaining, absolutely capturing attention in every scene.

A period piece requires exquisite attention to detail for hair and makeup, and Elmwood School’s hair and makeup team, composed of Madelaine Delaney, Tina Zhang, Sadie Hanley and Lorrie Whiten, did not disappoint. From bold lips to gelled 1920s hairstyles, the Elmwood School hair and makeup team created makeup looks that perfectly encapsulated the styles and trends of the era. Furthermore, the team took a creative perspective on the classic appearance of a harlequin, both modernising it and meshing it with the style of the 20s, that was perfectly executed.This gave the character of Feste a unique appearance that perfectly suited the performance.

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Elmwood School’s Roaring Twenties take on the classic comedy Twelfth Night was a refreshing and highly entertaining performance.  Every cast member greatly impacted the overall performance, creating intriguing and thrilling dynamics. Beyond that the hair and makeup team created period accurate yet incredible creative looks. All elements combined created an overall amazing and creative performance.

Nina Moore, Critic
St. Joseph High School

Love, though wonderful, can be quite conflicting and confusing. In Elmwood’s production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, they explore the results of these contrasting emotions.

This Elizabethan play is relocated to the 1920s in Illyria, New York, where poor Viola is washed up on shore, with neither family nor resources. Unsure of what to do, Viola decides that impersonating a man is the best way to survive, and becomes Cesario. Duke Orsino, the speakeasy owner, gives Cesario a job, thinking that it will help him court the beautiful Olivia. Olivia, unimpressed by Orsino, takes a shine to Cesario; all the while Malvolio, the butler, is also in love with Olivia. However, Viola falls for Orsino at first sight. This situation becomes all the more confusing, as Viola’s brother Sebastian is still alive and well in Illyria. How will they resolve this complicated romance?

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Elmwood’s cast and crew delivered an inventive performance of Twelfth Night. The cast performed the Shakespearean language with excellence, as well as adding their own aspects to the classic characters. The musicians played expertly, allowing for the 1920s setting to shine. The crew executed their roles well.

Tess Kowal as Viola/Cesario performed well by using the language in an enthusiastic manner. Kowal conveyed the confusion of Viola perfectly and gave an intriguing take on the character. Olivia Madden, portrayed by Madelaine Delaney, was energetic and attention-grabbing. Delaney used physicality and expressions to illustrate Olivia’s feelings successfully. Olivia was interesting to watch and displayed a unique, yet realistic, dynamic with the other characters.

Yifou (Mia) Cheng was the perfect Malvolio, with every line delivered with excellence. Cheng gave emotion into every moment, creating a character of depth and interest. Malvolio’s supposedly stoic personality was wonderfully shown as Cheng allowed the right amount of feeling to be shown. Lorrie Whiten as Sir Andrew was brilliant in conveying the comedy of the play. Whiten’s use of expressions added a fun aspect to the performance. Sir Andrew had a strong dynamic with the other cast members. Hannah Vermeij as Duke Orsino was wonderfully cast, with a commanding and steady presence at all times. Vermeij portrayed the emotions of Orsino remarkably, with the love building inside of the Duke for Cesario, whilst still caring for Olivia.

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The costume team found and altered period appropriate pieces that highlighted the characters. Lighting by Kacey Fraser-Robison and Kay Sharkey, created the atmosphere of a 1920s speakeasy and the use of spotlights allowed for fascinating scenes. Choreography by Temi Adekeye was fun and let the characters’ personalities shine in the dance. Adekeye’s choice of dance moves and partner work reflected the time well. The musicians Sadie Hanley, Claire Hang, Alex Clysdale and Lily Sun played beautifully and added to the atmosphere of the play. The music showed the era wonderfully, and the musicians played to what the scene required.

Congratulations, Elmwood School on your inventive adaptation of Twelfth Night. The play was transferred wonderfully into this new setting with energy and enthusiasm.

Hannah Castillo, Lead Critic
Holy Trinity Catholic High School

Love and desire are powerful forces that can make people change themselves for someone else; but pair these forces with trickery, misunderstanding and deceit, and the result is hilariously catastrophic. This was shown by Elmwood School’s performance of

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Twelfth Night, a classic comedic play that explores the complicated nature of romantic relationships.

Written by William Shakespeare and adapted to be set in the 1920s, the story follows Viola after a shipwreck separates her from her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes to be dead. Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario and begins working under Duke Orsino. Orsino attempts to court a wealthy, young lady named Olivia and uses Cesario as an attempt to do so. However, Olivia becomes infatuated with Cesario, unaware of Viola’s true identity. Meanwhile, Viola has become romantically interested in her employer, Orsino, creating a messy love triangle.

Madelaine Delaney did an impressive job in the role of Olivia Madden. Delaney’s remarkable features included fabulous volume with excellent enunciation and impeccable voice intonations that thoroughly reflected the moods and attitude of the character in every scene. Delaney also implemented big and theatrical hand gestures and body expressions that played naturally to the character of Olivia, giving a rather amusing performance. Delaney brought the words of Shakespeare to life on stage and with a strong presence, was able to give a truly memorable performance.

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YiFou (Mia) Cheng’s role as Malvolio was hysterically exceptional. Cheng featured magnificent facial expressions that were big and clear on stage. This allowed for every emotion to be easily understood throughout the show, which was an essential asset to the comic relief provided by this character. Cheng also held outstanding mannerisms which made the performance much more entertaining, such as when Malvolio came out on stage showing off the hilarious yellow stockings. Cheng’s majestic performance is one to remember.

The cast’s exceptional acting was anchored by the spectacular costumes chosen for each character. All the costumes, from the headpieces, vests, shoes and accessories fit the time period and transported the audience to the 1920s. The costumes reflected the character’s social class and wealth. This can be seen with the character of Olivia having intricate and fancy-looking costume pieces while Viola’s costume, as Cesario, was overly simple, which showed the character’s low-income class. The costume team did a fantastic job dressing each character so that the clothing could tell a story of its own, and they worked hard to alter the vast majority of the costume pieces so that each character had a fitting costume.

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The hair and makeup is another element that brought this performance to a whole new level of wonder. With intricate braids, stylish ponytails and well-secured buns, every character received perfectly matched hair. The makeup was big and expressive and could be effortlessly interpreted by the audience. Some remarkable examples are the Club Singer having big and colourful eyeshadow and the priest being made to look old and sickly. The hair and make-up team did an amazing job creating a personalised look that suited each character and followed the themes and time period of the play.

The trickery of identities, the messy love triangle and the continuous misunderstandings allowed for a hysterical and entertaining performance of Twelfth Night. The cast of Elmwood School was glorious on stage and everyone involved worked together splendidly to put on a phenomenal show that was funny, breathtaking and truly admirable.

Talia Daigle, Critic
St. Joseph High School

Love – the most confusing, yet beautiful feeling of all. Love can take its many forms, whether it’s irrational, capricious, self-seeking, and so on. The cast and crew of Elmwood School explored this, and captured it, in their captivating performance of Twelfth Night.

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Written by William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night follows the story of Viola, who becomes separated from her twin brother, Sebastian, and disguises herself as a boy to work for the wealthy Duke Orsino, with whom she falls madly in love. However, Duke Orsino is in love with Countess Olivia, and he sends Viola to woo her with his love letters. Olivia, who has already rejected Duke Orsino many times, mistakes Viola for her male disguise, and falls for her instead. However, when Sebastian arrives, chaos erupts, leaving everyone confused and mistaken.

Whether it was the acting, the tech, or the crew, Elmwood School captured this timeless piece in an old fashioned, 1920s manner set in Illyria, New York City. Every character was played with wit, talent, and grace.

Madelaine Delaney as Countess Olivia captured the mournful, yet flirtatious character through powerful acting skills and facial expressions. Even when not speaking, Delaney knew how to stay in character, through mannerisms and posture. Delaney captured the classy, rich Olivia in a beautiful, captivating, and memorable way.

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YiFou (Mia) Cheng, who portrayed Malvolio in this production, captured the hearts of many with powerful monologues and emotional expressions. Cheng always stayed in character, and displayed the vain character of Malvolio beautifully. Even when Cheng was not speaking, the actor’s hilarious, yet emotive facial expressions drew attention and stole hearts.

Elmwood School put on a 1920s style play, and had costumes that suited every character. From Malvolio’s hilarious yellow stocking, and plaid outfit, to Olivia’s flirtatious, yet powerful red dress, the crew knew how to distinguish the different classes, all while showing off every character’s personality. Before, during, and after scenes, old-fashioned music was played, and captured the 1920s era. The music was played stunningly, by Sadie Hanley, Claire Hang, Lily Sun, and Alex Clysdale.

Every aspect that went into this classic, nostalgic tale was displayed with natural talent, and carefully curated detail. Twelfth Night was truly enchanting, and captured the beauty of how love can exist in many different forms.

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About the reviews:

The  Elmwood School production was reviewed by 31 critics representing 5 schools. The critic discussions were mentored by teacher Jenny Sheffield of Almonte and District High School and student reviews were edited and selected for publication by teacher Electra Hatzopoulos of A.Y. Jackson Secondary School, who could see only the reviews, not the names or schools of the reviewers.

Next review: Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School’s production of Almost, Maine.

About the Cappies:

The Citizen and 21 high schools are participating in the Cappies, a Washington, D.C.based program that uses high school critics to review high school theatre. The program is a unique partnership between the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Two schools from other boards in the region and one private school have also joined. The four winners of the lead acting categories will receive a bursary provided by the international law firm Gowling WLG Canada LLP. Follow Canada’s Capital Cappies on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram @OttawaCappies.

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