BELL Shakespeare has cancelled all of its Canberra season since opening night – 10 performances of “Twelfth Night” – blaming “company illness”.

It opened on Friday, October 13, but stopped performing matinees and evening shows the following day and hasn’t performed since, with the final night scheduled, but cancelled, for Saturday.

This is the biggest mainstage cancellation of effectively an entire season since the covid pandemic brought theatre performances to a halt nationally.

“CityNews” reviewer Simone Penkethman was generally complimentary of the production, but said it wasn’t without some issues.

“Casting Malvolia as female and Feste as non-binary are decisions by director Heather Fairbairn that work well in the service of the show,” she wrote.

“Less successful is her decision to have a male actor play the female twin, Viola, for most of the show while a female actor plays the male twin Sebastian. According to her show notes, this is to ‘reinstate the dramaturgical effect of an all-male cast’, as was the case in Shakespeare’s time.

“However, in her mixed-gender cast, this added complexity is distracting, confusing and ultimately unresolved.”

Bell’s quick, cruel comedy mostly hits its mark

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