Twelfth Night

My first play at the Globe was Twelfth Night, performed by the Company Theatre in Hindi.

I had no idea whether to expect subtitles or another form of translation.  I was hoping, but then no translation appeared, only a short 3-line summary of what was going on in the scene, on a screen the the left and right of the stage.  Nevertheless, I managed to follow what was going on fairly easily.  Bits of English thrown in here and there, as well as my own knowledge and the captions, helped me especially as the production was full of musical numbers.

The Company Theatre, with the help of Amitosh Nagpal's adaption skills, recreated Twelfth Night in the image of a Bollywood musical.  I loved the company's energy.  It was infectious, and I found myself laughing along with the other half of the audience that understood Hindi (from general perusal of the faces in the theatre).  The actors gestured more than I am generally used to, especially to the audience.  I found it amusing when they would attempt a moment of audience contact with someone who was less likely to know Hindi (the half of the audience that was white).

Viola and Sebastian were dressed the same, as is commonly found.  Poor Malvolio actually wore yellow stockings... tights... and then proceeded to do a musical number in them.  The audience roared.  Everyone was on stage the entire time, those "offstage" clustered to the back with the musicians, joining in for choral parts or other choreographed group dance numbers.

When all was said and done, the audience clapped so long and so loud my arms hurt.  Curtain call must have lasted a full five minutes, at least, since the audience refused to let them go backstage with their cheers and whistles.  It was really lovely, and I'd like to see more productions like this.  I felt like I had a little Bollywood dance going on in my heart for a while afterwards.