Was ihr wollt  (A Tortured Lover’s Version)

3-2-1 – Olivia, daughter of a Count, appears on stage, and she has a problem: She is head over heels in love with Cesario. He simply waltzed into her chamber one day, with a message from the Duke. But she cares a lot less about the message (a declaration of love from the Duke) than about the messenger. Because (unlike the Duke), Cesario is clever, beautiful, witty, and he can sing… And, let’s be honest, sometimes the “real” message is less important than what happens in the moment of its delivery.

So, this could be the beginning of a wonderful romance, except that we find ourselves in a classic Shakespeare-comedy. Nothing is simple here, and least of all love. Because Olivia doesn’t know that Cesario’s real name is Viola and that this male messenger is, in fact, female. Only hours ago, she was shipwrecked on the shores of the island of Illyria and decided to go into service at the Duke’s court. And what does a Shakespeare-character typically need for such a plan? That’s right: a disguise. So Olivia comes up with an alter ego and calls it… James? No, Cesario. Which is how she is known in Illyria. After all, who would have thought that the Count’s daughter would fall in love with him on the spot? And she’s not the only one, because in Illyria, people fall in love like there’s no tomorrow. Just like they wear disguises, spy on and mock each other, lead each other astray – everything you need, in fact, to make sure that nothing (and really, absolutely nothing) is obvious.

The realities of our lives may have drastically changed since the 17th century, but the profound human needs to transform and to find ourselves reflected in art and (pop-) culture still remain the same. As Shakespeare’s plays did back then, Taylor Swift’s songs today provide exactly what a huge number of people want to hear, see and feel. As one of the greatest pop stars of our time, Taylor Swift creates a projection surface for the emotional worlds and life experiences of many thousands of people. In her songs, reality and acting, false foundations, alter egos and the ambiguity between what is shown and what is seen are as commonplace as they are in “Was ihr wollt (Twelfth Night)”.

In her fourth production at Schauspiel Leipzig, Pia Richter therefore interlaces Shakespeare’s classic with motifs, aesthetics and, of course, any number of songs by Taylor Swift, bringing the Elizabethan material into the Here and Now on the Main Stage.