On Thursday I had the opportunity to watch a modern reenactment Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night. What amazes me the most is that despite this play being written about 500 years ago, it still lives on! I am familiar with some of Shakespeare’s work from high school English class, however I have never read the Twelfth Night, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed. One of my favorite things about the play is that it takes place in the present, not the 1500s, and yet the same lines are used and still completely make sense. For example, there is a scene in which one of the main characters, Olivia, commands that she be handed her veil. However, instead of a veil, she puts on stylish shades.

However, what was even more engaging was how the play seemed to transgress gender and racial lines. Two of the main characters, Sebastian and Viola, were black and, in addition to this, they both had complicated romantic relationships with both men and women. The director, Simon Godwin, switched up the gender of some the characters in the original play. For example, Malvolia in this play, is Molvolio in the original play. In this way the play now had more layers to explore which are relevant to today’s conversations about gender and sexuality.

After the play, GRF Sara and two other Rose Scholars and I were able to discuss some of the themes in the play. It was helpful the Sara is so knowledgable on Shakespeare and his work which helped us understand the context better. This was my second time attending a play at the Cinemapolis this academic year, and I hope to have the opportunity to attend some more plays next semester.