Twelfth Night, or What You Will
cutting and notes by John Minigan from the original by Shakespeare
A one act annotated version of Shakespeare's comedy filled with unrequited love, disguises, and a shipwreck.
About 45 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
15
6 M | 3 W | 6 Any Gender, Doubling Possible
Simple Set
33 pages
In addition to traditional live stage performance rights, Twelfth Night, or What You Will can also be performed under the following scenarios.
Virtual Performance
A Virtual Performance is a performance on an online web conferencing platform such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, or Google Meets where performers are geographically isolated from one another and not together on a stage.
No audience is physically present with the performers. The audience is logged in to the same web conferencing platform as the performers.
Each time the play is performed for a virtual audience of any size (whether or not admission is charged) constitutes one performance.
Livestream Performance
Productions of Twelfth Night, or What You Will may be Livestreamed.
All Livestream Performances must be conducted through our Authorized Streaming Partner, BookTix. Please contact BookTix at info@booktix.com for more information about Livestreaming.
A Livestream Performance is a traditional performance that is livestreamed to the Internet as the actors are performing. Instead of watching the show live in the theatre, the audience watches virtually from their home or other location.
All Livestream Performances must be conducted through our Authorized Streaming Partner, BookTix. Please contact BookTix at info@booktix.com for more information about Livestreaming.
A Livestream Performance may be pre-recorded. Recordings for pre-recorded Livestreams may be made if the recording is destroyed at the conclusion of the production. Should the producing organization want to retain the recording for archival purposes, they must purchase a separate Videorecording License from Theatrefolk.
Theatrefolk charges no additional fees for permission to Livestream. However, BookTix will charge nominal fees to the producing organization. Theatrefolk does not have any financial interest in BookTix and does not receive any commission or fees from BookTix.
Theatrefolk cannot be held responsible for any issues, technical, financial, legal, or otherwise, arising from the producing organization’s relationship with BookTix.
Each time the show is Livestreamed (whether performed live or pre-recorded) constitutes one performance.
One license, three ways to use it
Each royalty you purchase can be used as a Traditional Live Stage Performance, Virtual Performance, or Livestream Performance. How you choose to use your performance license is up to you! Performances need not all be of the same type so long as the total number of performances given does not exceed the total number of performances ordered.
How to Order
Click on the red "Add to Cart" button, then select "A Production"
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.
Characters
15
6 Men, 3 Women, 6 Any Gender, Doubling Possible
-
ORSINO
[M]
21 lines
- Duke of Illyria.
-
SEBASTIAN
[M]
14 lines
- A young man from Messaline. Viola's twin brother.
-
SIR TOBY BELCH
[M]
39 lines
- Olivia's uncle. He loves parties and is often drunk.
-
SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK
[M]
20 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]
27 lines
- Olivia's overly stern butler. He is secretly in love with Olivia.
-
VIOLA (pronounced VY-oh-lah)
[W]
24 lines
- A young woman from Messaline. Sebastian's twin sister. Later disguised as Cesario, a boy.
-
OLIVIA
[W]
40 lines
- A Countess. As the play begins, she is in mourning for the death of her brother.
-
MARIA (pronounced Ma-RY-ah)
[W]
11 lines
- Olivia's chambermaid, secretly attracted to Sir Toby.
-
FESTE
[A]
18 lines
- An entertainer. The fool.
-
FABIAN
[A]
6 lines
- Servant to Olivia. Friend of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew.
-
ANTONIO/ANTONIA
[A]
8 lines
- A pirate-like sailor. Friend of Sebastian.
-
CAPTAIN
[A]
6 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]
- Subgenres
- Romantic comedy Shakespeare
- Settings
- 16th Century / Elizabethan
- Dress
- Contemporary costumes Elaborate costumes Period costumes
- Audience
- Pre-teen Teen
- Features
- Opportunity for spectacle Physical comedy Music Stage combat
- Set
- Simple set
- Themes
- Love Parenting/Family Relationships Self-image
- Cross-Curricular Uses
- Shakespeare
- Other uses
- Competition Monologues Audition material Class work Scene work
Prop List
Drum, Swords, Hat covering long hair, Letter
Related Titles
Purchase Orders accepted from US and Canadian Schools.
Info for your purchasing department.
All others must pay at the time of ordering.
Not sure what you need to order? Check out our pricing and ordering guide.
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.
{{ product.name }}
About 45 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
15
6 M | 3 W | 6 Any Gender, Doubling Possible
Simple Set
33 pages