Shakespeare Research

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

RESEARCH

Year 13 drama students need  to research THE ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE CONDITIONS for Shakespeare.

Try and find infomation on the following:

• The original Globe theatre - layout details, including the stage
• Costumes, props, special effects
• Social / historical conditions - the place of theatre at the time
• ANY information on 'Twelfth Night-' - the first production and written comments from the day
• Any critics that can be quoted - note name of critic / title of essay
• Consider why the recent refurbishment of the RSC has created the stage in this way - do some research into the RSC aims / objectives

Organisation of Examination notes:

• Use the exemplar layout to guide the notes
• Ensure as much detail of the original performance conditions as possible

Performance notes

• Collate your notes on the performance
• Key aspect to concentrate on is the presentation of MALVOLIO - this is central to the difference in interpretation in modern pieces and very different to productions of the day
• Also, consider the presentation of OLIVIA - you could draw many similarities! Also, consider universal nature of Shakespearean presentation of women