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Twelfth Night, or What You Will by John Minigan play script cover

Twelfth Night, or What You Will

cutting and notes by John Minigan from the original by Shakespeare

After a shipwreck, Viola finds herself stranded on the shores of Ilyria, disguised as a boy, and falling in love with her boss. And that's just the beginning! Love, comedy, and confusion abound in Twelfth Night.

Comedy Classical Adaptation Shakespeare Shakespeare in an Hour

Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 45 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
15 Characters
6 M 3 F 6 Any Gender
Doubling Possible
Set
Simple Set
Length
33 pages
Production Tips
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Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

15 Characters

  • 6 Males
  • 3 Females
  • 6 Any Gender
  • Doubling Possible

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

  • ORSINO Male 40 lines
    Duke of Illyria.
  • SEBASTIAN Male 22 lines
    A young man from Messaline. Viola's twin brother.
  • SIR TOBY BELCH Male 79 lines
    Olivia's uncle. He loves parties and is often drunk.
  • SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK Male 40 lines
    Sir Toby's friend. A knight. He is not very bright and not as appreciated by Sir Toby as he thinks he is.
  • MALVOLIO Male 44 lines
    Olivia's overly stern butler. He is secretly in love with Olivia.
  • VIOLA (pronounced VY-oh-lah) Female 72 lines
    A young woman from Messaline. Sebastian's twin sister. Later disguised as Cesario, a boy.
  • OLIVIA Female 78 lines
    A Countess. As the play begins, she is in mourning for the death of her brother.
  • MARIA (pronounced Ma-RY-ah) Female 29 lines
    Olivia's chambermaid, secretly attracted to Sir Toby.
  • FESTE Any gender 44 lines
    An entertainer. The fool.
  • FABIAN Any gender 26 lines
    Servant to Olivia. Friend of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew.
  • ANTONIO/ANTONIA Any gender 20 lines
    A pirate-like sailor. Friend of Sebastian.
  • CAPTAIN Any gender 8 lines
    The Captain of the ship Viola and Sebastian were on.
  • VALENTINE/VALENTINA Any gender 1 line
    Servant to Duke Orsino.
  • CURIO/CURIA Any gender 2 lines
    Servant to Duke Orsino.
  • PRIEST Male 1 line
  • OFFICERS/SAILORS/MUSICIANS/ATTENDANTS Any gender 8 lines

Praise for Twelfth Night, or What You Will

5 out of 5 stars
Mary Beth Wainwright
Tri County Co-Op
We heard many a laugh throughout the night, so 'our' comedy was a success!
5 out of 5 stars
Shawnasea Holst
Shawnee Mission Northwest
I loved this adaptation of Twelfth Night. It was a good runtime and pace to keep everything running smoothly, but we didn't feel like this version cut too much for everyone to easily grasp the plot. My students were intimidated by the language at first- but we worked through that easily and used a TON of physical humor to help make sure the comedy played well.

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