Twelfth Night at Crucible Theatre Sheffield Review
David Birrell (Feste) in Twelfth Night. Photo by Manuel Harlan.
After the darkness of King Lear, Shakespeare continues to take centre stage at the Crucible Theatre, with Twelfth Night lifting the mood as we head into the winter darkness.
Directed by Jamie Glover, this production reunites many of the actors from the previous production and to see them in one of Shakespeare’s comedies was a great juxtaposition. Katie Wimpenny as Maria, and Milo Twomey as Sir Toby Belch were really funny together and adding Jay Saighall’s Fabian made for a perfect comedy trio. James Chetwood as Aguecheek was the real fool of the piece and was incredibly funny throughout.
David Birrell as Feste was a revelation. He was flawless in his portrayal, and there was an innocence that shone through which worked in stark contrast to the power play seen in Malvolio who was played by Christopher Jordan (in the absence of Matthew Horne). Jordan was brilliant as Malvolio, giving the character an odious, toadying quality in Act 1, which was still present throughout his journey in Act 2. With these choices, it was hard to feel any real sympathy for the character. Jordan stole the stage every time and he was one of the highlights of the show for me.
A special mention must be given to Hazel Monaghan in the performance we saw, for stepping up to cover a track at incredibly short notice, along with Sachin K Sharma. This performance was a reminder of the vital importance of understudies and swings in any show and they were both fantastic.
Bebe Sanders played Viola with a wide-eyed innocence that was charming, and her scenes with Justina Kehinde’s Olivia were well paced and funny. Kehinde played Olivia with a sexual energy which isn’t often seen in this play, and it made the piece feel more modern especially given that the staging of the piece does not have any set age or era.
Amanda Stoodley’s set design was stark and at times it felt like the stage was too empty, it would have been nice to have some elements to break the stage up. Richard Howell’s lighting design was effective however there were times where the stage felt it could have been brighter.
Twelfth Night was funny and also heartfelt, it did exactly what it was meant to, but I feel that it could have given more richness and warmth.
Twelfth Night is at The Crucible, Sheffield, until Saturday 31st October 2026.
★★★★
Written by Kirsty for Theatre and Tonic, October 2026.