Review: Twelfth Night or What You Will at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

⭐⭐⭐ (Three Stars)

Director Robin Belfield’s new staging of Twelfth Night, or What You Will at the Globe Theatre offers a visually dazzling but uneven take on Shakespeare’s classic tragicomedy.

The production revels in the play’s chaos of mistaken identities and unrequited affections, but at times the direction feels muddled. With so many crisscrossing relationships, greater clarity might have helped balance Twelfth Night’s natural disorder with a sharper sense of storytelling.

Where the production shines is in its design. Jean Chan’s vibrant costumes, full of bold, saturated colours, bring an infectious energy to the stage, while the radiant sunburst set design provides a striking visual centrepiece that looks stunning in the Globe’s open-air setting.

Although the play begins with the famous line, “If music be the food of love, play on,” music here feels underused. The contributions of the five talented musicians are too fleeting to fully enrich the atmosphere. The few songs, composed by Simon Slater, occasionally slowed the pace of the play, though one lively audience-participation number successfully lifted the energy to great effect. 

The performances by the cast provide the production’s most memorable moments. Pearce Quigley’s Malvolio is outstanding, capturing the irritable, ridiculous, and sympathetic sides of the character. His comic timing, rapport with the audience, and ability to play both restraint and over-the-top emotion make his scenes the highlights of the evening. Jocelyn Jee Esien as a gender-swapped Lady Belch and Alison Halstead as Maria also deliver scene-stealing turns, with Esien’s endless hipflasks and Halstead’s expressive reactions drawing some of the show’s biggest laughs.

Ultimately, this Twelfth Night is a feast for the eyes, with flashes of brilliance in its comedy, but it doesn’t always find the clarity or musical lift to make the whole evening soar.

Twelfth Night or What You Will runs at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre until 25th October 2025.

Photos by Helen Murray