A Review of John Gorrie's 1980 Film Adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romantic-comedy 'Twelfth Night or What You Will'

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Twelfth Night (1980)
Review:
The 6th January 1980 was the day that John Gorrie's film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night was broadcasted. Directed by Gorrie it stared Alec McCowen (Malvolio), Felicity Kendal (Viola),
Sinead Cusack (Olivia), Annette Crosbie (Maria) and Robert Hardy (Sir Toby Belch), in an absolutely
delightful, vivid and well-casted production. The casting selection is appropriate to say the least
supported by an outstanding Maria played by Annette Crosbie, his interpretation is cleverly executed as
a live play and the dramatic techniques used in his film adaptation such as music, costuming, set design
among others aren't changed in any way which gives a preserved and authentic Shakespearean
experience on screen.
In his adaptation of the play, Gorrie hits gold with the casting selection. Although some of his actors
may give a more powerful performance than others his version of Twelfth Night is well executed.
Annette Crosbie (Maria) seems to fit her role as Lady Olivia's servantmaid like a glove. Her performance
is both outstanding and realistic, her acting is on par and seems natural, and thus she is the best and
most powerful supporting cast member. This, however, is not the same for all actors. The acting of
Clive Arrindell (Count Orsino) does not fully satisfy me. Unlike Annette Crosbie, his performance is
rather mediocre and is not consistent throughout. Luckily his cast mates help support his role. Sinead
Cusack (Olivia) and Felicity Kendal (Viola) are those actresses. They embody their characters and
perform brilliantly and consistent throughout and it is because they make up the film's main plot that
other characters are supported by them. Felicity Kendall (Viola) gives a very good performance as the
male pseudonym Cesario since she portrays the character with a natural femininity which implies her
natural sex and also with a bravado look and gait that supports her masculine disguise. Sinead Cusack
(Olivia) carries her role with an aristocratic mentality that supports her role as a Stewardess. She is able
to create the emotions of her character and translate it through proper interpretation, body language
and voice but she maintains her composed and elitist role. The film's subplot also seems to hold a few
gems, one being Alec McCowen (Malvolio). He pulls off the supreme egotist very well and captivates
with his brilliant and most accurate interpretation of the character. His pompousness is the film is quite
believable, the way in which he denounces Feste's entertainment and Sir Toby's drunkenness seem very

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realistic in execution and in the scenes where his character is stripped of the decorum and the socially
upward behaviour, McCowen assumes the role of his character perfectly. There is empathy that arises
when he pleads with Feste for freedom and when he speaks with Lady Olivia about her 'wrongdoings'
towards him because he is able to use the script and adapt its directions into a very good visual
translation. Robert Hardy (Sir Toby Belch) and Ronnie Stevens (Sir Andrew Augecheek) give an
appropriate performance. Robert Hardy's interpretation of Sir Toby Belch as a loud, opportunistic
drunkard is well done but sound engineers didn’t seem to keep up with the murmurs and shouts. His
charismatic nature, however, in instances like that of Act 3 Scene 2 is not perceived as natural but
instead like recitation therefore his character was not fully consistent as his female counterpart, Maria,
and his performance somewhat lacked an authentic feel. Similarly, his acquaintance who he fools into
thinking that Lady Olivia has affection for, Sir Andrew Augecheek, does not come up to the high
standard of other characters but portrays his unwitting character as much as his capacity and ability
allows. The significance of the minor supporting characters such as Robert Lindsay (Fabian), Ryan
Michael (Curio), Maurice Roëves (Antonio), Malcolm Reynolds (Valentine) and Ric Morgan (Sea
Captain) acts as the micro-organisms that support the makeup of the macrocosm of Twelfth Night. They
assist in situations and do not hold prominent roles but help with the transition of scenes as well as
situations. Thus the acting done by these actors all seem to be on a basic level and is not overpowering
to the major characters. Some examples are in Act 1, Scene 1 where Valentine brings word of Lady
Olivia's decline to Count Orsino's marriage proposal to him, in Act 1, Scene 2 where the Sea Captain
assists Viola in 'creating' Cesario and attaining occupation in Orsino's Court and in Act 2, Scene 3 where
Fabian assists Sir Toby Belch in coaxing Sir Andrew Augecheek in staying and challenging Viola. These
roles are filled by suitable actors. Lastly, we come to Trevor Peacock (Feste). His role as the
representation of the folly of the seasonal holiday of Twelfth Night is executed well. He stands at the
barrier where romanticism and reality exist and as an allowed fool, brings much humour to the play
since he is able to disrespect higher authority, reveal other character's true nature to the audience and
use his wittiness and cunning abilities in situation when needed. However, somewhere along his
character development, Trevor Peacock’s Feste does not seem to be incomplete. In my opinion Feste
should have been more of a jovial sport and to that regard he hardly ever seemed to quite be
appropriate in that aspect; however, he does a decent job in his interpretation.

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The General performance of this film adaptation is impressive when it comes to the visuals aspects of
the play that support it such as costuming and set design. The costumes in the film were very accurate
to the Elizabethan couture during William Shakespeare's era. The use of a dark, muted colour palette
seems to bring a neutrality and gloominess to the film but each character's individuals costume is
appropriate when it relates to the aspects of class, gender and role in the play and thus their characters
aren't overpowered by attractive and dazzling clothing therefore they hold the audience’s attention with
their dramatic expression. The set designs used in John Gorrie's production is devoted to Shakespeare's
vision. The furniture and architectural design of that period was referred to as an Early Renaissance
style which had evolved from medieval fortified architecture. Houses of the aristocrat consisted of tall
arched towers, tall houses and large brickwork. The interior of these houses were furnished with large
woven carpets, paintings that covered the ceiling and the walls, intricately designed woodworking and
massive of rooms. In relation to the film, there wasn't a fully accurate translation of Elizabethan interior
decor in relation to Viola's residence since her rooms seem more cramped than Orsino's. This, however,
is understandable because of the fact that Gorrie used sets instead of sites which gives the audience a
view of what the play is supposed to look and feel like when performed live. The use of the Old English
language in the film also adds to the genuine experience. By using the authentic language of the script,
Gorrie commands the audience’s attention with the beauty of this expressive and romantic language
and this helps achieve equilibrium between theatre and film. Music also plays a central role in the play.
Feste, in every scene, is the main singer of these songs, and they hold symbolic meaning to each
situation or character it is used for. For example, ‘Hold Thy Peace’ in Act 2, Scene 3 is a party song
meant to accompany drinking and merrymaking and ‘When That I was and a Little Tiny Boy” in Act 5,
Scene 1 is an ode to the loss of youth and life and the sacrifice of delusions of pride and thus we attain
class consciousness and eventually a perpetual state of inebriation. The final stanza reminds the
audience that it’s merely a play whose intention is purely to entertain and once again, we are reminded
that nothing in Twelfth Night is to be taken seriously, including Feste’s pessimistic forecast for our future
as loveless drunkards. Time goes on and nature continues. What becomes of each individual is of very
little consequence. In the play, Feste is quite the paradox of his role as fool in Lady Olivia's Court, his
wittiness and wisdom are qualities that help to give audience members a better understanding of
characters and their actions. Essentially, he performs thematically significant songs to assist the
audience in understanding the plot. Trevor Peacock (Feste) does a good job at vocal performance but
lacks adequate acting skills to execute Feste.

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As a Comedy by Shakespeare, and his last, the film included physical comedy, love in different forms,
willful disregard for social order, the occurrence of improbable, miraculous and unbelievable events and
the transforming power of poetry, art and music intertwined into the plot of stories. The major theme
that supports all these prerequisites is the theme of Humour. As the script itself stands, Humour
evidently makes the play a memorable one. Shakespeare's uses malaprops, dramatic irony, puns,
costuming, false and malevolent ambitions and the characters personality trait construct to add
humour. The plots complicated love triangle and Malvolio's gulling facilitate humourous situations in
the movie. As done in the script so is done in the film. Gorrie excludes no part and includes nothing but
as a director he should have ensured that comedic scenes and instances were better executed by all
actors. To improve the actor’s performance he should have viewed previous film and live adaptations of
Twelfth Night in order to properly direct them. When there are scenes of humour the audience should
be able to be more immersed in the experience and enjoy the performance. The length of the film and a
presumption that audiences may not be able to relate to the humour of the Elizabethan era should have
been taken into consideration. The most memorable of humourous scenes was Malvolio's gulling in the
garden. Alec McCowen gives a wonderful performance in this scene and also his fellow castmates
playing Fabian, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew also adds to the overall comicality of the scene. In summary as
it relates to humour and characters, apart from Annette Crosbie's stunning performance, other directly
humourous characters do not seem properly equipped in terms of acting abilities to have made their
performances better.
In conclusion, the John Gorrie's film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night first
broadcasted on, 6th January 1980 offers a gratifying experience to audiences grasping our attention
with the grandeur of the Elizabethan era. The cast, the emotions, the situations and the finale are all
things to look forward to in Twelfth Night. It is a delightful version dedicated to executing the film
through Shakespeare’s vision and this brings it a tier above the rest. It is an absolutely delightful, vivid
and well-casted production and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

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Sources
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night Or What You Will. Shakespeare Online. Amanda Mabillard, 20
December 2010. Web. 1 February 2014. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/twn_1_1.html>
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Viola (Cesario) in Twelfth Night, or What You Will." Shmoop.com. Shmoop
University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.shmoop.com/twelfth-night/viola-
cesario.html>
Peck, John, Martin Coyle, eds. How to Study a Shakespeare Play : Second Edition. New York York:
PALGRAVE, 1995.
Riding, Alan and Leslie Dunton – Downer. Essential Shakespeare Handbook. London, Dorling
Kindersley Ltd., 2004.