Twelfth Night (EN)

Adaptation and theatrical version of Twelfth Night, or What You Will - a comedy by William Shakespeare. Sister and brother - twins - Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck. Viola is afraid her brother drowned and so she disguises as a boy and joins services of Duke Orsino.Orsino is in love with the Countess Olivia and he sends disguised Viola with a love letter to his chosen lady. However, upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man... and here the story full of disguise, humorous scenes and misunderstanding begins.Illyria, the setting of Twelfth Night, is important to the play's romantic atmosphere. Illyria was an ancient region of the Western Balkans. Viola has fallen in love with the Duke Orsino, creating a love triangle between Duke Orsino, Olivia and Viola, being that Duke Orsino loves Olivia, Viola loves Duke Orsino, and Olivia loves Viola.Viola is not alone among Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines; in Shakespeare's theatre, convention dictated that adolescent boys play the roles of female characters, creating humour in the multiplicity of disguise found in a female character who for a while pretended at masculinity. Her cross dressing enables Viola to fulfill usually male roles, such as acting as a messenger between Orsino and Olivia, as well as being Orsino's confidant.