WHILE one can sample an experience of a Shakespeare play in a reconstruction of the Globe Threatre in London, Brownsea Open Air Theatre certainly offers a unique spectacle for anyone to enjoy.
Having gone without a full production on the island in the past two years, the cast and crew of the 2022 offering have most definitely come back with a bang.
Twelfth Night is unlikely to be the first work of the Bard to roll off anyone’s tongue, or even one many people studied at school, but BOAT have delivered a memorable, funny and thought-provoking play to witness at the heart of Brownsea.
This was my first experience of the theatre company’s productions, but I can assure you it will not be the last.
Before even taking a seat in the amphitheatre, the night features a trip across on the ferry to Brownsea on a fine summer’s evening. It seems a fitting arrival as you prepare to settle into the events of Illyria, the coastal setting for all bar the opening scene of Twelfth Night.
You are thrown straight into the thrust of the action with events moving at pace, yet the skill and personality of the leading lights shone through.
Brooke Camilleri Agius as Viola (Cesario) captured the character’s philosophical quandaries, while Ant Orsino as Duke Orsino and Matha Jenkins as Olivia put the audience on swift notice of their respective longings for true love.
Set these emotional and complex positions against the brash, bombastic and troublesome antics of the likes of Sir Toby Belch, played by Nick Robinson, Feste, the Fool, played by Scott Free, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, played by Stuart Glossop, and Maria, played by Rachael de Courcy Beamish, and the laughs and applause were never in short supply.
Praise must go to the Coutlye Musick who provided a fitting selection of period music to support those on stage, with their interludes showing off the wide-range of talent within the quartet.
Pre-interval the sun blossomed down on the set allowing the audience to soak up the beautiful woodland surrounds Brownsea Island offers. As the play resumes post-break, dusk falls and the detail of the stage comes to the fore under the lighting rigs.
Of course, those on stage are just one part of the theatrical production and a glance at the programme showed the large support BOAT attracts and requires to put on its shows.
Following rapturous applause at the conclusion of the final act, the audience makes their way back to the ferry after an evening completely removed from the daily rigours of life.
It will not be long before BOAT turn their attention to the 2023 production, but for now they have four more performances of Twelfth Night to deliver.
This Friday is already sold out. At the time of writing, limited tickets are available for the performances on the evening of Monday, August 8, Wednesday, August 10, and Friday, August 12.
Tickets cost £29 and include return ferry travel to Brownsea Island from Poole Quay. For more details, visit brownsea-theatre.co.uk
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