British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database
Illyria (1994): The Steam Industry, Finborough Theatre
CAST INCLUDED: Finola Bryan (Malvolio); Howard Saddler (Orsino); Matthew Woolcott (Sir Toby Belch); Nicola Wright (Maria)
This production ran from 29 July - 21 August 1994. Production information taken from reviews; no programme has been located as yet.
"This may be a cut-and-paste adaptation of Twelfth Night but it's a measure of the theatrical pedigree of the newly formed Steam Industry that in minutes Illyria feels like its own play. Set to the sound of waves on a Caribbean shore, Phil Willmott's sultry production illuminates the play's themes of sexual attraction and gender-bending by making Malvolio a woman....Howard Saddler is the sexiest Orsino I've ever seen but the rest don't look nearly mooney-eyed or besotted enough to make anyone believe that love and longing of whatever persuasion are really in the air...Certainly an interesting experiment, but Liz Putland's leafy, sun-bleached set gives a hint of how steamy this production might yet become if all the actors can catch Willmott's risk." ~ Paula Webb, Time Out, 3 August 1994
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