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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:

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 M3 F6 Any Gender, Doubling Possible
Set
Simple Set
Length
33 pages
Production Tips
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Free Excerpt
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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 M, 3 F, 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 [M] 40 lines
Duke of Illyria.
SEBASTIAN [M] 22 lines
A young man from Messaline. Viola's twin brother.
SIR TOBY BELCH [M] 79 lines
Olivia's uncle. He loves parties and is often drunk.
SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK [M] 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 [M] 44 lines
Olivia's overly stern butler. He is secretly in love with Olivia.
VIOLA (pronounced VY-oh-lah) [F] 72 lines
A young woman from Messaline. Sebastian's twin sister. Later disguised as Cesario, a boy.
OLIVIA [F] 78 lines
A Countess. As the play begins, she is in mourning for the death of her brother.
MARIA (pronounced Ma-RY-ah) [F] 29 lines
Olivia's chambermaid, secretly attracted to Sir Toby.
FESTE [A] 44 lines
An entertainer. The fool.
FABIAN [A] 26 lines
Servant to Olivia. Friend of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew.
ANTONIO/ANTONIA [A] 20 lines
A pirate-like sailor. Friend of Sebastian.
CAPTAIN [A] 8 lines
The Captain of the ship Viola and Sebastian were on.
VALENTINE/VALENTINA [A] 1 line
Servant to Duke Orsino.
CURIO/CURIA [A] 2 lines
Servant to Duke Orsino.
PRIEST [M] 1 line
OFFICERS/SAILORS/MUSICIANS/ATTENDANTS [A] 8 lines

Praise for Twelfth Night, or What You Will

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.
Mary Beth Wainwright
Tri County Co-Op
We heard many a laugh throughout the night, so 'our' comedy was a success!

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