"What more could be said about a show which gets a standing ovation almost before the actors have to come out to take a bow.
Zimbabwean Over the Edge theatre company's Illyria is a jolly oasis to the south of the sahara inhabited by a colourful variety of love stricken characters. The five member all male cast re-creates Shakespeare's comedy of errors through the elaborate use of costumes and head-dresses, singing, dancing, and exceptional acting skill.
Zane E. Lucas' fragile Viola posing as Cesario in order to get closer to her beloved Orsino, exemplifies the way in which Elizabethan boy-actors must have had to transcend the boundries of gender. His characterisation is effortless, internal and reliant on detail rather than external signs of femininity. On the other hand, Gavin Peter's haughty Olivia is a wonderfully observed caricature of an ample, bejewelled African maid of a little more than marriageable age.
However it is Wiina Msamati's inspired characterisation of Malvolio - an ornithologists dream and theatre's best example of canarian conceitedness that sends the audience into an outburst of spontaneous applause.
Adam Neill's direction is smooth and economical, demonstrative of the sense for the aesthetic, and - admirably - unemcumbered by the compulsive trend for political re-interpretation.
2). The Scotsman: Joyce McMillan: 22/08/00: * * * *
Over The Edge theatre company of Zimbabwe's Twelfth Night is an altogether briefer and more light-hearted affair; but there is enough joie de vivre here to fuel a small power station.
There are three striking elements to Adam Neill's production. The first is the georgeous, inventive costume design in rich, traditional African style, enabling an all male cast of five to play 14 characters with a simple flip from one cloak and head-dress to another. There is and outstanding performance from Wiina Msamati, as Duke Orsino and a preening, crow-like Malvolio. The company's delight in the wit of Shakespeare's language and the brilliant absurdity of his comic situations is a pleasure to share.
At the end, the audience gave this joyful, sunburst of a show a standing ovation; not for subtlety, maybe, but for handling Shakespeare with so much love - and for reminding us just how much fun that can be.
