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{{short description|Play by William Shakespeare}}
{{Italic title}}
{{About|Shakespeare's play|the holiday|Twelfth Night (holiday)|other uses|Twelfth Night (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|If music be the food of love, play on|other uses|If Music Be the Food of Love (disambiguation){{!}}If Music Be the Food of Love}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) - Scene from 'Twelfth Night' ('Malvolio and the Countess') - N00423 - National Gallery.jpg|350px|right|thumb|''Scene from 'Twelfth Night' ('[[Malvolio]] and the Countess')'', [[Daniel Maclise]] (1840)]]

'''''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''''' is a [[romantic comedy]] by [[William Shakespeare]], believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a [[Twelfth Night (holiday)|Twelfth Night entertainment]] for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins [[Viola (Twelfth Night)|Viola]] and [[Sebastian (Twelfth Night)|Sebastian]], who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as a page named 'Cesario') falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she is a man.

The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Shakespeare's Theatre |last=Thomson |first=Peter |date=1983 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |isbn=0-7100-9480-9 |location=London |oclc=9154553 |page=94 |quote=Shakespeare, having tackled the theatrical problems of providing ''Twelfth Night'' with effective musical interludes, found his attitude toward his material changed. An episodic story became in his mind a thing of dreams and themes.}}</ref> with plot elements drawn from [[Barnabe Rich]]'s short story "Of Apollonius and Silla", based on a story by [[Matteo Bandello]]. The first documented public performance was on 2 February 1602, at [[Candlemas]], the formal end of [[Christmastide]] in the year's calendar. The play was not published until its inclusion in the 1623 [[First Folio]].

==Characters==
[[File:Scene from Twelfth Night - Francis Wheatley.jpg|thumb|'' Scene from Twelfth Night'', by [[Francis Wheatley (painter)|Francis Wheatley]] (1771–72)]]
{{div col|colwidth=20em|rules=yes}}
* [[Viola (Twelfth Night)|Viola]] – a shipwrecked young woman who disguises herself as a [[Page (servant)|page]] named Cesario 
* [[Sebastian (Twelfth Night)|Sebastian]] – Viola's twin brother
* [[Orsino (Twelfth Night)|Duke Orsino]] – Duke of Illyria
* [[Olivia (Twelfth Night)|Olivia]] – a wealthy countess
* [[Malvolio]] –  steward in Olivia's household
* [[Maria (Twelfth Night)|Maria]] – Olivia's gentlewoman
* [[Sir Toby Belch]] – Olivia's uncle
* [[Andrew Aguecheek|Sir Andrew Aguecheek]] – a friend of Sir Toby
* [[Feste]] – Olivia's servant, a jester
* Fabian – a servant in Olivia's household
* Antonio – a sea captain and friend to Sebastian
* Valentine and Curio – gentlemen attending on the Duke
* A Sea Captain – a friend to Viola
{{div col end}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Shakespeare's Heroines - Olivia.jpg|thumb|left|A depiction of Olivia by [[Edmund Leighton]] from ''The Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare's Heroines'']]
Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of [[Illyria]] and comes ashore with a captain's help. She has lost contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes has drowned. With the aid of the Captain she disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino has convinced himself he is in love with Olivia who is in mourning and who therefore refuses to see entertainments, be in the company of men, or accept love or marriage proposals from anyone, including Orsino, until seven years have passed. Orsino then uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love for Olivia.
But Olivia falls in love with 'Cesario', setting her at odds with her professed duty. Meanwhile, Viola has fallen in love with Orsino, creating a love triangle: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario.

[[File:Sir Toby Belch coming to the assistance of Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Houghton c.1854).jpg|right|thumb|''Sir Toby Belch coming to the assistance of Sir Andrew Aguecheek'', [[Arthur Boyd Houghton]], c. 1854]]
In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that she has fallen for him. This involves Olivia's riotous uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, the silly squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Olivia's servants Maria and Fabian; and Olivia's witty fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, disrupting the peace of Olivia's household until late into the night, prompting Malvolio to chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts,
: ''"Dost thou think, because ''thou'' art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?"'' (Act&nbsp;II, Scene&nbsp;III).

[[File:George Clint (1770-1854) - Malvolio and Sir Toby (from William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', Act II, Scene iii) - 485055 - National Trust.jpg|thumb|''Malvolio and Sir Toby (from William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', Act II, scene iii)'', [[George Clint]] (c.1833)]]
Maria suggests taking revenge on Malvolio by convincing him that Olivia is secretly in love with him. She forges a love letter, mimicking Olivia's handwriting, and plants it in the garden. The letter asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross-gartered—a colour and fashion that Olivia hates, to be rude to the rest of the servants, and to smile constantly in Olivia's presence. Watched by Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian, Malvolio finds the letter and is surprised and delighted. He starts following the letter's instructions to show Olivia his feelings. Olivia is shocked by the changes in him and, agreeing that he seems mad, leaves him to be cared for by his tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, the tormentors lock him in a dark chamber. Feste visits Malvolio to mock Malvolio's professed insanity, both as himself and disguised as a priest.

Meanwhile, Viola's twin, Sebastian, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea captain who previously fought Orsino, yet who accompanies Sebastian to Illyria, despite the danger, because of his admiration for Sebastian.

With their love for practical jokes, Sir Toby and Fabian convince Sir Andrew to challenge Cesario to a duel, knowing that neither of them can fight. Their initial duel is interrupted by Antonio, who believes Cesario to be Sebastian. Orsino's officers then arrest Antonio. Emboldened by this, Sir Andrew mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and slaps him, prompting Sebastian to beat up Sir Andrew. Olivia witnesses the skirmish and chastises Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola reveals her identity and is reunited with her brother.

Sebastian and Viola reunite, and the cases of mistaken identity are resolved. Orsino and Viola marry (Orsino to Viola: "But when in other habits you are seen, Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twelfth Night (Modern) :: Internet Shakespeare Editions |url=https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/doc/TN_M/complete/ |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=internetshakespeare.uvic.ca}}</ref>), and Antonio is released. Fabian confesses the plot against Malvolio, and reveals that Sir Toby has married Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him. The plays end with a song sung by Feste.

==Setting==
[[Illyria]], the exotic setting of ''Twelfth Night'', is important to the play's romantic atmosphere.

Illyria was an ancient region of the Western Balkans whose coast (the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the only part of ancient Illyria relevant to the play) covered (from north to south) the coasts of modern-day [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]], and [[Albania]]. It included the city-state of the [[Republic of Ragusa]], which has been proposed as the setting, and which is today known as [[Dubrovnik]], [[Croatia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Torbarina |first=Josip |date=June 1964 |title=The Settings of Shakespeare's Plays |url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/149328 |journal=Studia Romanica et Anglica Zagrabiensia |volume=- |language=en |issue=17–18 |pages=21–59 |issn=0039-3339 |oclc=760940009}}</ref>

Illyria may have been suggested by the Roman comedy ''[[Menaechmi]]'', the plot of which also involves twins who are mistaken for each other. Illyria is also referred to as a site of pirates in Shakespeare's earlier play, ''[[Henry VI, Part 2]].'' Most of the characters' names are Italian but some of the comic characters have English names. Oddly, the "Illyrian" lady Olivia has an English uncle, Sir Toby Belch.

It has been noted that the play's setting has other English allusions, such as Viola's use of "Westward ho!", a typical cry of 16th-century London boatmen, and Antonio's recommendation to Sebastian of "The Elephant" as the best place to lodge in Illyria ([[Elephant and Castle#Name|The Elephant]] was a pub not far from the Globe Theatre).<ref>{{cite book |title=Twelfth night, or, What you will |last=Shakespeare |first=William |editor-last=Donno |editor-first=Elizabeth Story |date=2004 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-82792-8 |edition=Updated |location=Cambridge |oclc=54824521 |page=7}}</ref>

==Sources==
The play is believed to have drawn extensively on the Italian production ''[[Gl'ingannati]]'' (''The Deceived Ones''),<ref>{{cite news |last=Caldecott |first=Henry Stratford |title=Our English Homer, or, The Bacon–Shakespeare Controversy: A Lecture |page=9 |location=Johannesburg |newspaper=Johannesburg Times |year=1896 |oclc=83492745}}</ref> collectively written by the ''[[Accademia degli Intronati]]'' of [[Siena]] in 1531. It is conjectured that the name of its male lead, Orsino, was suggested by [[Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano]], an Italian nobleman who visited London in the winter of 1600–01.<ref name=halliday>{{cite book |last=Halliday |first=F.E. |year=1964 |title=A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964 |edition=First |pages=71, 505 |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |oclc=69117982}}</ref>

Another source story, "Of Apollonius and Silla", appeared in [[Barnabe Riche]]'s collection ''Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession conteining verie pleasaunt discourses fit for a peaceable tyme'' (1581), which in turn derives from a story by [[Matteo Bandello]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Griffin |first=Alice |year=1966 |title=The Sources of Ten Shakespearean Plays |edition=First |location=New York |publisher=T.Y. Crowell |oclc=350534}}</ref>

"Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after [[Christmas Day]], also called the ''Eve of the [[Epiphany (holiday)|Feast of Epiphany]]''. It was originally a Catholic holiday, and these were sometimes occasions for revelry, like other Christian feast days. Servants often dressed up as their masters, men as women, and so forth. This history of festive ritual and carnivalesque reversal{{efn|The carnival-like atmosphere is based on the then-1,000-year earlier [[ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] festival of the [[Saturnalia]] held at the same time of year. The Saturnalia was characterized by drunken revelry and inversion of the social order: masters became servants for a day, and vice versa.}} is the cultural origin of the play's gender-confusion-driven plot. Puritans often opposed Epiphany celebrations, much as Malvolio opposes the revelry in the play.<ref>{{cite journal |last=van den Brink |first=Bret |date=2023 |title=What You Will: Double Predestination and the Plot of ''Twelfth Night''|url=http://sinestesieonline.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Sinestesieonline_40_VanderBrink.pdf |journal=Sinestesieonline |volume=40 |page=4}}</ref>

The actual Elizabethan [[Twelfth Night (holiday)|festival of Twelfth Night]] involved the antics of a [[Lord of Misrule]], who, before leaving his temporary position of authority, called for entertainment, songs, and [[Mummers Play|mummery]]; the play has been regarded as preserving this festive and traditional atmosphere of licensed disorder.<ref name=Laroque-1991>{{cite book |author=[[Laroque, François]] |year=1991 |title=Shakespeare's Festive World: Elizabethan seasonal entertainment and the professional stage |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>{{rp|page=153}} This leads to the general inversion of the order of things, most notably gender roles.<ref name=Laroque-1991/>{{rp|page=227}} The embittered and isolated Malvolio can be regarded as an adversary of festive enjoyment and community.<ref name=Laroque-1991/>{{rp|page=254}} That community is led by Sir Toby Belch, "the vice-regent spokesman for cakes and ale", and his partner in a comic stock duo, the simple and constantly exploited Sir Andrew Aguecheek.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clayton |first=Thomas |date=Autumn 1985 |title=Shakespeare at the Guthrie: ''Twelfth Night'' |journal=Shakespeare Quarterly |volume=36 |issue=3 |page=354 |doi=10.2307/2869718 |jstor=2869718}}</ref>

==Date and text==
[[File:Twelfth Night F1.jpg|thumb|upright|The title page of ''Twelfth Night'' from the 1623 First Folio]]
The full title of the play is ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. [[Subtitle (titling)|Subtitles]] for plays were fashionable in the [[Elizabethan era]], and though some editors place ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''{{'}}s alternative title, ''The Jew of Venice'', as a subtitle, this is the only Shakespeare play to bear one when first published.<ref name=greenblatt/>

The play was probably finished between 1600 and 1601, a period suggested by the play's referencing of events that happened during that time. A law student, [[John Manningham]], who was studying in the Middle Temple in London, described the performance on 2 February 1602 ([[Candlemas]]) which took place in the hall of the Middle Temple at the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar, and to which students were invited.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/shakespeare_bulletin/v024/24.3hobgood.pdf |author=Hobgood, Allison P. |date=Fall 2006 |title=Twelfth Night's "Notorious Abuse" of Malvolio: Shame, Humorality, and Early Modern Spectatorship |journal=Shakespeare Bulletin |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1353/shb.2006.0049 |s2cid=26734928 |access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> This was the first recorded public performance of the play. The play was not published until its inclusion in the [[First Folio]] in 1623.

==Themes==

===Gender===
Viola is not alone among Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines; in Shakespeare's theatre, convention dictated that adolescent boys play female characters, creating humour in the multiplicity of disguise found in a female character who for a while pretended at masculinity.<ref name=greenblatt>{{cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |author2=Stephen Greenblatt |author3=Walter Cohen |author4=Jean E. Howard |author5=Katharine Eisaman Maus |author6=Andrew Gurr |title=The Norton Shakespeare |edition=First |pages=[https://archive.org/details/nortonshakespear00shak/page/40 40, 1090] |location=New York |publisher=W.W. Norton |year=1997 |isbn=0-393-97087-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/nortonshakespear00shak/page/40}}</ref> Her cross-dressing enables Viola to fulfil usually male roles, such as acting as a messenger between Orsino and Olivia or serving as Orsino's confidant. But she does not use her disguise to intervene directly in the plot (unlike other Shakespearean heroines, such as Rosalind in ''As You Like It'' and Portia in ''The Merchant of Venice''), remaining someone who allows "Time" to untangle the plot.<ref>Hodgdon, Barbara: "Sexual Disguise and the Theatre of Gender" in ''The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy'', edited by Alexander Leggatt. Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 186.</ref> 
[[File:NML WARG WAG 1736-001.jpg|thumb|''The Duel Scene from 'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare'', [[William Powell Frith]] (1842)]]
As ''Twelfth Night'' explores gender identity and sexual attraction, having a male actor play Viola enhanced the impression of androgyny and sexual ambiguity.<ref name="Charles, p. 124">Charles, Casey. "Gender Trouble in Twelfth Night". Theatre Journal. Vol. 49, No. 2 (1997): 121–141 [124].</ref> Some modern scholars believe that ''Twelfth Night'', with the added confusion of male actors and Viola's deception, addresses gender issues "with particular immediacy".<ref>Smith, Bruce R. "Introduction". ''Twelfth Night''. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.</ref> They also accept that its depiction of gender stems from the era's prevalent scientific theory that females are simply imperfect males.<ref name="Charles, p. 124"/> This belief explains the almost indistinguishable differences between the sexes reflected in the play's casting and characters.

===Metatheatre===
At Olivia's first meeting with "Cesario" (Viola) in Act I, Scene v, she asks her "Are you a comedian?" (an Elizabethan term for "actor").<ref>Lothian and Craik, p. 30.</ref> Viola's reply, "I am not that I play", epitomising her adoption of the role of "Cesario" (Viola), is regarded as one of the play's several references to theatricality and "playing".<ref>Righter, Anne. ''Shakespeare and the Idea of the Play''. Chatto & Windus, 1962, p. 130.</ref> The plot against Malvolio revolves around these ideas, and Fabian remarks in Act III, Scene iv: "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction".<ref>Righter, p. 136.</ref> In Act IV, Scene ii, Feste (The Fool) plays both parts in the "play" for Malvolio's benefit, alternating between adopting the voice of the local [[curate]], Sir Topas, and his own voice. He finishes by likening himself to "the old Vice" of English Morality plays.<ref>Righter, p. 133.</ref> Other influences of the English folk tradition can be seen in Feste's songs and dialogue, such as his final song in Act V.<ref>Weimann, Robert. ''Shakespeare and the Popular Tradition in the Theater: Studies in the Social Dimension of Dramatic Form and Function'', p. 41. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978.</ref> The last line of this song, "And we'll strive to please you every day", echoes similar lines from several English folk plays.<ref>Weimann, p. 43.</ref>

==Performance history==

===During and just after Shakespeare's lifetime===
Some scholars argue that ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' (the play's full title) was probably commissioned for performance as part of the Twelfth Night celebrations held by [[Elizabeth_I|Queen Elizabeth I]] at [[Whitehall Palace]] on 6 January 1601 to mark the end of the embassy of the Italian diplomat, the Duke of Orsino.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hotson |first=Leslie |title=The First Night of Twelfth Night |edition=First |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |year=1954 |oclc=353282}}</ref> Others dispute this, arguing that the "rigid etiquette of Queen Elizabeth's court" would have made it "impossible" for Shakespeare to name a main character in a comedy for the very diplomat attending the performance, and that it is more likely that Shakespeare used the name from the 1601 diplomatic visit when writing his play, which premiered the next winter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mahood |first=M.M. |title=Twelfth Night |location=Middlesex |publisher=Penguin |year=1968 |quote=We only have to translate the episode into modern terms - a Royal Command performance on the occasion of a State Visit - to see how unthinkable it would be to use the important visitor's name for the chief character in a comedy.}}</ref> It was again performed at Court on Easter Monday in 1618 and on [[Candlemas]] night in 1623.

The earliest public performance took place at [[Middle Temple Hall]], one of the [[Inns of Court]], on 2 February (Candlemas night) 1602. The lawyer [[John Manningham]] wrote in his diary:
{{blockquote|At our feast we had a play called "Twelve Night, or What You Will", much like "[[The Comedy of Errors]]" or "[[Menaechmi]]" in [[Plautus]], but most like and near to that in Italian called "[[Gl'ingannati|Inganni]]". A good practice in it to make the steward believe his lady-widow was in love with him, by counterfeiting a letter as from his lady, in general terms telling him what she liked best in him and prescribing his gesture in smiling, his apparel, etc. and then, when he came to practice, making him believe they took him for mad.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |author2=Smith, Bruce R. |title=Twelfth Night: Texts and Contexts |page=2 |location=Boston |publisher=Bedford/St Martin's |year=2001 |isbn=0-312-20219-9}}</ref>}}

Clearly, Manningham enjoyed the Malvolio story most of all, and noted the play's similarity to Shakespeare's earlier play, as well as its relationship with one of its sources, the ''Inganni'' plays.

===Restoration to 20th century===
[[File:William Hamilton, A Scene from Twelfth Night.jpg|thumb|A Scene from ''Twelfth Night'' by William Shakespeare: Act V, Scene i ([[William Hamilton (painter)|William Hamilton]], c. 1797)]]

The play was one of the earliest Shakespearean works acted at the start of the [[English Restoration|Restoration]]; Sir [[William Davenant]]'s adaptation was staged in 1661, with [[Thomas Betterton]] as Sir Toby Belch. [[Samuel Pepys]] thought it "a silly play", but saw it three times anyway during the period of his diary on 11 September 1661, 6 January 1663, and 20 January 1669. Another adaptation, ''[[Love Betrayed|Love Betray'd, or, The Agreeable Disappointment]]'', was acted at [[Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre|Lincoln's Inn Fields]] in 1703.<ref name=halliday/>

After holding the stage only in the adaptations in the late 17th century and early 18th century, the original Shakespearean text of ''Twelfth Night'' was revived in 1741, in a production at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]]. In 1820 an operatic version by [[Frederic Reynolds]] was staged, with music by [[Henry Bishop (composer)|Henry Bishop]].

===20th and 21st century===
Influential productions were staged in 1912, by [[Harley Granville-Barker]], and in 1916, at the [[Old Vic]].
[[File:Poster for Twelfth Night William Shakespeare Yale University Dramatic Association.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Poster]] advertising performances of ''Twelfth Night'' by [[Yale Dramatic Association|Yale University Dramatic Association]], [[New Haven, Connecticut]], 1921]]
[[Lilian Baylis]] reopened the long-dormant [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]] in 1931 with a notable production of the play starring [[Ralph Richardson]] as Sir Toby and [[John Gielgud]] as Malvolio. The [[Old Vic Theatre]] was reopened in 1950 (after suffering severe damage in the [[The Blitz|London Blitz]] in 1941) with a memorable production starring [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as Viola. [[John Gielgud|Gielgud]] directed a production at the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] with [[Laurence Olivier]] as Malvolio and [[Vivien Leigh]] playing both Viola and Sebastian in 1955. The longest-running [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]] production by far was [[Margaret Webster]]'s 1940 staging starring [[Maurice Evans (actor)|Maurice Evans]] as Malvolio and [[Helen Hayes]] as Viola. It ran for 129 performances, more than twice as long as any other [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]] production.

A memorable production directed by [[Liviu Ciulei]] at the [[Guthrie Theater]] in Minneapolis in 1984 was set in the context of an archetypal circus world, emphasising the play's convivial, [[carnival]]esque tone.{{refn|The production was extensively reviewed by Clayton<ref>{{cite periodical |first=Thomas |last=Clayton |date=Autumn 1985 |title=Shakespeare at ''The Guthrie'': ''Twelfth Night'' |periodical=Shakespeare Quarterly |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=353–359}}</ref>}}

When the play was first performed, all female parts were played by men or boys, but it has been the practice for some centuries now to cast women or girls in the female parts in all plays. In 1999 and 2007 [[Propeller (theatre company)|Propeller]] produced the play with an all-male cast, at the Old Vic, and on tour internationally and in the UK.<ref>[https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/taming-of-the-shrew-2007 'London Theatre' Taming of the Shrew review from 2007] accessed 26 June 2025.</ref><ref>[https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/12thnightpropOV-rev Fisher, Philip. British Theatre Guide, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare - Propeller, Old Vic, (2007)] accessed 26 June 2025.</ref><ref>[https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av70479 Twelfth Night - Video recording of Ed Hall’s 2007 all-male Twelfth Night for Propeller with Tam Williams as Viola] Learning on Screen website accessed 26 June 2025.</ref> The company of [[Globe Theatre|Shakespeare's Globe]], London, has produced many notable, highly popular all-male performances, and a highlight of their 2012 season was ''Twelfth Night'', with the Globe's artistic director [[Mark Rylance]] playing Olivia. This season was preceded, in February, by a performance of the play by the same company at Middle Temple Hall, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the play's première, at the same venue. [[Stephen Fry]] played [[Malvolio]] when the same production was revived in 2012–13, later transferring to sell-out runs in the [[West End theatre|West End]] and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]; it ran in [[repertory]] with ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''.<ref name=Costa-2012-10-01/>

Many renowned actresses have played Viola in the latter half of the 20th century, and their performances been interpreted in the light of how far they allow the audience to experience the transgression of stereotypical gender roles.<ref name=Gay-1994>{{cite book |author=Gay, Penny |year=1994 |title=As She Likes It: Shakespeare's unruly heroines |place=London, UK |publisher=Routledge}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 15}} This has sometimes correlated with how far productions of the play go towards reaffirming a sense of unification; for example, a 1947 production concentrated on showing a post-World War II community reuniting at the end of the play, led by a robust hero / heroine in Viola, played by [[Beatrix Lehmann]], then 44 years old.<ref name=Gay-1994/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 18–20}} The 1966 [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] production played on gender transgressions more obviously, with [[Diana Rigg]] as Viola showing much more physical attraction towards the duke than previously seen, and the court in general being a more physically demonstrative place, particularly between males.<ref name=Gay-1994/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 30}} [[John Barton (director)|John Barton]]'s 1969 production starred [[Donald Sinden]] as Malvolio and [[Judi Dench]] as Viola; their performances were highly acclaimed and the production as a whole was said to show a society crumbling into decay.<ref name=Gay-1994/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 34}}

Malvolio is a popular character choice among stage actors; he has been portrayed by [[Ian Holm]] many times, [[Simon Russell Beale]] ([[Donmar Warehouse]], 2002), [[Richard Cordery]] (2005), [[Patrick Stewart]], ([[Chichester]], 2007), [[Derek Jacobi]] (Donmar Warehouse, 2009), [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] (2009),<ref>{{cite news |last=Costa |first=Maddy |date=20 October 2009 |title=Malvolio – the killjoy the stars love to play |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/oct/20/twelfth-night-malvolio-richard-wilson |access-date=17 November 2012}}</ref> and [[Stephen Fry]] (The Globe, 2012).<ref name=Costa-2012-10-01>{{cite news |last=Costa |first=Maddy |date=1 October 2012 |title=Stephen Fry's ''Twelfth Night'': This all-male affair is no one-man show |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/oct/01/stephen-fry-twelfth-night-all-male |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>

In 2017, the [[Royal National Theatre]]'s production of ''Twelfth Night''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/twelfth-night |title=Twelfth Night – National Theatre |website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk|date=4 November 2016 }}</ref> changed some of the roles from male to female, including Feste, Fabian (who became Fabia), and, most notably, Malvolio – who became Malvolia – played by [[Tamsin Greig]] to largely positive reviews.<ref>{{cite news |first=Susannah |last=Clapp |author-link=Susannah Clapp |date=26 February 2017 |title=''Twelfth Night'' review – on high gender alert with Tamsin Greig |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/feb/26/twelfth-night-tamsin-greig-national-theatre-olivier-review}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Billington |date=23 February 2017 |title=Twelfth Night review – Tamsin Greig is brilliant in a show full of fun |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/feb/23/twelfth-night-review-olivier-national-theatre-tamsin-greig}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cavendish |first=Dominic |date=23 February 2017 |title=''Twelfth Night'', National's Olivier Theatre review: Tamsin Greig shines in a production otherwise at sea |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/twelfth-night-nationals-olivier-theatre-review-tamsin-greig/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/twelfth-night-nationals-olivier-theatre-review-tamsin-greig/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=Dowell, Ben |date=23 February 2017 |title=''Twelfth Night'' theatre review: Tamsin Greig brings dazzling comic brio to a gender-bending production |magazine=[[Radio Times]] |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-02-23/twelfth-night-theatre-review-tamsin-greig-brings-dazzling-comic-brio-to-a-gender-bending-production}}</ref> As a result, the production played with sexuality as well as gender.

In 2017–18, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a production directed by Christopher Luscombe; [[Adrian Edmondson]] played Malvolio, [[Kara Tointon]] Olivia, and [[Dinita Gohil]] Viola.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christopher Luscombe's production ''Twelfth Night'' |year=2017 |website=[[Royal Shakespeare Company]]  |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/twelfth-night/past-productions/in-focus-christopher-luscombe-2017}}</ref>

In 2022, Old Fruit Jar Productions staged a 1980s-inspired twist on the play at [[Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool]], swapping lords and ladies of stately homes for rowdy [[Benidorm]] bars and booze-fuelled escapades, as an introduction to Shakespeare for audiences unfamiliar with his work.

==Adaptations==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2023}}

===Stage===

==== Musicals ====
Due to its themes such as young women seeking independence in a "man's world", "gender bending" and "same sex attraction",<ref>Examined, for example, in Jami Ake, "Glimpsing a 'Lesbian' Poetics in ''Twelfth Night''", ''SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900'', '''43'''.2, Tudor and Stuart Drama (Spring 2003) pp. 375–394.</ref> there have been a number of re-workings for the stage, particularly in musical theatre, among them ''[[Your Own Thing]]'' (1968), ''[[Music Is]]'' (1977), ''[[All Shook Up (musical)|All Shook Up]]'' (2005), and ''[[Play On!|Play On]]!'' (1997), the last two [[jukebox musicals]] featuring the music of [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Duke Ellington]], respectively. Another adaptation is ''[[Illyria (musical)|Illyria]]'' (2002) by composer [[Peter Mills (composer)|Pete Mills]], which continues to perform regularly throughout the United States. In 2018, the [[The Public Theater|Public Theatre]] workshopped and premiered a musical adaptation of ''Twelfth Night'' with original music by [[Shaina Taub]], who also played the role of [[Feste]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/theater/review-twelfth-night-shakespeare-in-the-park-shaina-taub.html |title=Review: In a Blissful Musical 'Twelfth Night' in Central Park, Song Is Empathy |last=Brantley |first=Ben |date=2018-08-19 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-12-06 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1999, the play was adapted as ''Epiphany'' by the [[Takarazuka Revue]], adding more overt commentary on the role of theatre and actors, as well as gender as applied to the stage (made more layered by the fact that all roles in this production were played by women).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.takarazuka-revue.info/tiki-index.php?page=Epiphany+(Star%2C+1999) |title=Epiphany (Star, 1999) Epiphany (Bow Shakespeare Series #8) |publisher=takarazuka-revue.info |access-date=11 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203145554/http://takarazuka-revue.info/tiki-index.php?page=Epiphany+(Star,+1999) |archive-date=3 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/peet/2010/00000001/00000001/art00005 |title=Gender and homosexuality in Takarazuka theatre: Twelfth Night and Epiphany |last=Chen |first=Yilin |date=March 2010 |journal=Performing Ethos:international Journal of Ethics in Theatre and Performance |volume=1 |pages=53–67 |doi=10.1386/peet.1.1.53_1 |language=en |access-date=2019-12-06|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
There are many new modern plays but mostly still played in Early Modern English.

==== Plays ====
Theatre Grottesco, a [[Charles Lecocq|Lecocq]]-inspired company based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, created a modern version of the play from the point of view of the servants working for Duke Orsino and Lady Olivia, entitled ''Grottesco's 12''th ''Night'' (2008).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatergrottesco.org/12th-night |title=12th Night |website=theatergrottesco |language=en |access-date=2019-12-06 |archive-date=6 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206221658/https://www.theatergrottesco.org/12th-night |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://alibi.com/art/24907/story.html |title=Performance Review: Grottesco's 12th Night at the Santa Fe Opera's Stieren Hall |last=Dalness |first=Amy |website=alibi |language=en |access-date=2019-12-06 |archive-date=6 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206223223/https://alibi.com/art/24907/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The adaptation takes a much deeper look at the issues of classism, and society without leadership.  In New York City, Turn to Flesh Productions, a theatre company that specializes in creating "new Shakespeare shows", developed two plays focused on [[Malvolio]]: ''A Comedy of Heirors, or The Imposters'' by verse playwright, [[Emily C. A. Snyder]], which imagined a disgraced Malvolio chasing down two pairs of female twins in Syracuse and Ephesus, and ''Malvolio's Revenge'' by verse playwright, [[Duncan Pflaster]], a queer sequel to ''Twelfth Night''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aworkunfinishing.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-favorite-theater-of-2017.html |title=A work unfinishing: My Favorite Theater of 2017 |last=Knapp |first=Zelda |date=2017-12-28 |website=A work unfinishing |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/349367694 |title=Malvolio's Revenge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newplayexchange.org/plays/413584/malvolios-revenge |title=Malvolio's Revenge {{!}} New Play Exchange|website=newplayexchange.org|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newplayexchange.org/plays/214444/comedy-heirors |title=A Comedy of Heirors {{!}} New Play Exchange|website=newplayexchange.org|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref> Both plays were originally written for submission to the [[American Shakespeare Center]]'s call for plays in conversation with the Bard through the [[American Shakespeare Center#Shakespeare's New Contemporaries (SNC)|Shakespeare's New Contemporaries]] program.

===Film===
{{See also|Shakespeare on screen#Twelfth Night}}
*1910: [[Vitagraph Studios]] released the silent, short adaptation ''Twelfth Night'' starring actors [[Florence Turner]], [[Julia Swayne Gordon]], and [[Marin Sais]].
*1985: ''[[Just One of the Guys]]'', directed by [[Lisa Gottlieb]], is a loose update of the story set in a modern high school.  
*1986:  ''[[Twelfth Night (1986 film)|Twelfth Night]]'', an Australian production.
*1996:  ''[[Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996 film)|Twelfth Night, Or What You Will]]'', adapted and directed by [[Trevor Nunn]] and set in the 19th century, stars [[Imogen Stubbs]] as Viola, [[Helena Bonham Carter]] as Olivia, and [[Toby Stephens]] as Duke Orsino. The film also features [[Mel Smith]] as Sir Toby, [[Richard E. Grant]] as Sir Andrew, [[Ben Kingsley]] as Feste, [[Imelda Staunton]] as Maria, and [[Nigel Hawthorne]] as Malvolio. Much of the comic material was downplayed into straightforward drama, and the film received some criticism for this.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fosteronfilm.com/shake/twelfth96.htm |title=Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996) |publisher=Foster on Film |access-date=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1998:  ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'' contains several references to ''Twelfth Night''. "Viola" ([[Gwyneth Paltrow]]) is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who disguises herself as a boy to become an actor.  Near the end of the movie, [[Elizabeth I]] ([[Judi Dench]]) asks Shakespeare ([[Joseph Fiennes]]) to write a comedy for the Twelfth Night holiday.  Viola is presented in the final scene of the film as Shakespeare's inspiration for the heroine of ''Twelfth Night''. In a nod to the shipwrecked opening of the play, the movie includes a scene where the character Viola, separated from her love by an arranged marriage and bound for the American colonies, survives a shipwreck and comes ashore to Virginia.
*2001: [[Disney Channel Original Movie]] ''[[Motocrossed]]'' sets the story in the world of motocross racing.
*2004:  ''[[Wicker Park (film)|Wicker Park]]'' has [[Rose Byrne]]'s character Alex play Viola in an amateur production of ''Twelfth Night''.
*2006:  ''[[She's the Man]]'' updates the story as a contemporary teenage comedy. It is set in a prep school named Illyria and incorporates the names of the play's major characters. The story was changed to revolve around the idea of soccer rivalry but the twisted character romance remained the same as the original. [[Viola (Twelfth Night character)|Viola]], the main character, pretends to be her brother [[Sebastian (Twelfth Night)|Sebastian]], and a girl named Olivia falls in love with her in this guise. Two of Duke's Illyria soccer teammates are named Andrew and Toby. A nod is given to the omitted subplot by naming a briefly-onscreen [[tarantula]] Malvolio. Sebastian's ex-girlfriend Monique was given the surname Valentine, the meddling Malcolm was given the surname Festes, and Viola's friend and hair stylist Paul was given the surname Antonio.
*2018:  [[Adam Smethurst]] adapted and directed this version set in the 21st century.  The film stars [[Sheila Atim]] as Viola and Sebastian, [[Dominic Coleman]] as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, [[Zackary Momoh]] as Antonio, and [[Simon Nagra]] as Sir Toby Belch.

===Television===
On 14 May 1937, the [[BBC One|BBC Television Service]] in London broadcast a thirty-minute excerpt of the play, the first known instance of a work of Shakespeare being performed on television. Produced for the new medium by [[George More O'Ferrall]], the production is also notable for having featured a young actress who would later go on to win an [[Academy Award]] – [[Greer Garson]]. As the performance was transmitted [[live television|live]] from the BBC's studios at [[Alexandra Palace]] and the technology to record television programmes did not at the time exist, no visual record survives other than still photographs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vahimagi |first=Tise |author2=British Film Institute |title=British Television: An Illustrated Guide |page=8 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-19-818336-4}}</ref>

The entire play was produced for television in 1939, directed by [[Michel Saint-Denis]] and starring another future Oscar-winner, [[Peggy Ashcroft]]. The part of Sir Toby Belch was taken by a young [[George Devine]].

In 1957, another adaptation of the play was presented by [[NBC]] on U.S. television's ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'', with Maurice Evans recreating his performance as Malvolio. This was the first colour version ever produced on TV. [[Dennis King (actor)|Dennis King]], [[Rosemary Harris]], and [[Frances Hyland]] co-starred.

In 1964, there was a Canadian TV version directed by [[George McCowan]] with [[Martha Henry]] as ''Viola'', then in 1966 there was an [[Twelfth Night (1966 TV play)|Australian TV version]].

[[Twelfth Night (1970 film)|Another version for UK television]] was produced in 1969, directed by [[John Sichel]] and [[John Dexter]]. The production featured [[Joan Plowright]] as Viola and Sebastian, [[Alec Guinness]] as Malvolio, [[Ralph Richardson]] as Sir Toby Belch, and [[Tommy Steele]] as an unusually prominent Feste.

Yet [[BBC Television Shakespeare#Twelfth Night|another TV adaptation]] followed in 1980. This version was part of the ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare]]'' series and featured [[Felicity Kendal]] in the role of Viola, [[Sinéad Cusack]] as Olivia, [[Alec McCowen]] as Malvolio, and [[Robert Hardy]] as Sir Toby Belch.

In 1988, [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s stage production of the play, starring [[Frances Barber]] as Viola and [[Richard Briers]] as Malvolio, [[Twelfth Night (1988 TV drama)|was adapted]] for [[Thames Television]].

In 1998 the [[Lincoln Center Theater]] production directed by [[Nicholas Hytner]] was broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center. It starred [[Helen Hunt]] as Viola, [[Paul Rudd]] as Orsino, [[Kyra Sedgwick]] as Olivia, [[Philip Bosco]] as Malvolio, [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]] as Sir Toby, [[Max Wright]] as Sir Andrew, and [[David Patrick Kelly]] as Feste.

A 2003 tele-movie adapted and directed by [[Tim Supple]] is set in the present day. It features [[David Troughton]] as Sir Toby, and is notable for its multi-ethnic cast including [[Parminder Nagra]] as Viola and [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]] as Orsino. Its portrayal of Viola and Sebastian's arrival in Illyria is reminiscent of news footage of [[asylum seekers]].

An episode of the British series ''[[Skins (TV series)|Skins]]'', entitled ''Grace'', featured the main characters playing Twelfth Night, with a love triangle between Franky, Liv and Matty, who respectively played Viola, Olivia, and Orsino.

===Radio===
An adaptation of ''Twelfth Night'' by [[Cathleen Nesbitt]] for the [[BBC]] was the first complete Shakespeare play ever broadcast on British radio. This occurred on 28 May 1923, with Nesbitt as both Viola and Sebastian, and [[Gerald Lawrence]] as Orsino.<ref>[http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av66566 British Universities Film & Video Council]. Retrieved 19 April 2016</ref>

In 1937, an adaptation was performed on the ''CBS Radio Playhouse'' starring [[Orson Welles]] as Orsino and [[Tallulah Bankhead]] as Viola. A year later, Welles played Malvolio in a production with his Mercury Theater Company.

There have been several full adaptations on BBC Radio. A 1982 BBC Radio 4 broadcast featured [[Alec McCowen]] as Orsino, Wendy Murray as Viola, [[Norman Rodway]] as Sir Toby Belch, [[Andrew Sachs]] as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and [[Bernard Hepton]] as Malvolio; in 1993, BBC Radio 3 broadcast a version of the play (set on a Caribbean Island), with [[Michael Maloney]] as Orsino, [[Eve Matheson]] as Viola, [[Iain Cuthbertson]] as Malvolio, and [[Joss Ackland]] as Sir Toby Belch; this adaptation was broadcast again on 6 January 2011 by BBC Radio 7 (now Radio 4 Extra). 1998 saw another Radio 3 adaptation, with Michael Maloney, again as Orsino, [[Josette Simon]] as Olivia and [[Nicky Henson]] as Feste. In April 2012, BBC Radio 3 broadcast a version directed by Sally Avens, with [[Paul Ready]] as Orsino, [[Naomi Frederick]] as Viola, [[David Tennant]] as Malvolio, and [[Ron Cook]] as Sir Toby Belch.

=== Music ===
Operas based on ''Twelfth Night'' include [[Bedřich Smetana]]'s unfinished ''[[Viola (opera)|Viola]]'' (1874, 1883–1884), [[Karel Weis]]'s ''Blíženci'' (1892, 2nd version 1917), [[Ivan Jirko]]'s ''Večer tříkrálový'' (1964), [[Jan Klusák]]'s ''Dvanáctá noc'' (1989), and [[Edward Lambert]]'s ''Twelfth Night'' (2025).

A stage music based on ''Twelfth Night'' was composed in 1907 by [[Engelbert Humperdinck (composer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Irmen |first1=Hans-Josef |title=Engelbert Humperdinck Werkverzeichnis |date=2014 |publisher=Dohr |location=Cologne (Köln) |isbn=9783868461220 |page=79 |edition=2}}</ref> famous for his fairy-tale opera "Hänsel und Gretel".

Overtures based on ''Twelfth Night'' have been composed by [[Alexander Campbell Mackenzie]] (1888); [[Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco]], and [[Johan Wagenaar]].

"O Mistress Mine" (Act II, Scene 3) has been set to music as a solo song by many composers,<ref>{{Cite web |title=O mistress mine, where are you roaming? (Shakespeare) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music) |url=https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=14871 |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=www.lieder.net}}</ref> including [[Thomas Morley]] (also arranged by [[Percy Grainger]], 1903); [[Arthur Sullivan]] (1866);<ref>{{Cite web |title=O Mistress Mine |url=https://www.gsarchive.net/sullivan/songs/mistress/mine.html |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=www.gsarchive.net}}</ref> [[Hubert Parry]] (1886);<ref>{{Cite web |title=English Lyrics (Parry, Charles Hubert Hastings) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/English_Lyrics_(Parry,_Charles_Hubert_Hastings) |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=imslp.org}}</ref> [[Charles Villiers Stanford]] (1896); [[Amy Beach]] (1897);<ref>{{Cite web |title=3 Shakespeare Songs, Op.37 (Beach, Amy Marcy) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/3_Shakespeare_Songs,_Op.37_(Beach,_Amy_Marcy) |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=imslp.org}}</ref> [[Richard Henry Walthew|R. H. Walthew]] (1898);<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Fifty Modern English Songs |collaboration=The Society of English Singers |publisher=Boosey & Co |year=c. 1927 |location=London |pages=161–163}}</ref> [[W. Augustus Barratt]] (1903);<ref>{{Cite web |title=Album of 10 Songs (Barratt, Walter Augustus) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Album_of_10_Songs_(Barratt,_Walter_Augustus) |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=imslp.org}}</ref> [[Roger Quilter]] (1905); [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]] (1906); [[Benjamin Dale]] (1919); [[Peter Warlock]] (1924); [[Arthur Somervell]] (1927); [[Cecil Armstrong Gibbs]] (1936); [[Gerald Finzi]] (1942); [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Erich Korngold]] (1943); [[Peter Racine Fricker]] (1961); [[Sven-Eric Johanson]] (1974); [[Jaakko Mäntyjärvi]] (1984); [[Dave Matthews]] (2014); [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]] (2016); David Barton (2019).<ref>{{Cite web |title=O Mistress Mine |url=https://www.davidbartonmusic.co.uk/portfolio/o-mistress-mine/ |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=David Barton Music |date=20 September 2020 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Other settings for mixed voices have been composed by [[Herbert Brewer]] and [[Herbert Murrill]] amongst others.

"Come Away, Come Away, Death" (Act II, Scene 4) has been set to music by composers [[Johannes Brahms]] (in a German translation by [[August Schlegel]] as "Lied von Shakespeare", the second of ''Four Songs for Female Choir'', Op. 17, in 1860), [[Gerald Finzi]] (1942), [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold|Erich Korngold]] (1943), [[Roger Quilter]], and [[Jean Sibelius]] (in a Swedish translation as "Kom nu hit", 1957).

In 1943, Korngold also set the songs "Adieu, Good Man Devil" (Act IV, Scene 2), "Hey, Robin" (Act IV, Scene 2), and "For the Rain, It Raineth Every Day" (Act V, Scene 1) as the song cycle ''Narrenlieder'', Op. 29.

==Influence==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2024}}
The play consistently ranks among the greatest plays ever written<ref>{{cite web |title=The 50 Best Plays of All Time |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/best-plays-of-all-time |website=timeout |date=11 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Billington's 101 Greatest Plays of All Time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/sep/02/michael-billington-101-greatest-plays |website=thegurdian |date=2 September 2015}}</ref> and has been dubbed "The Perfect Comedy".<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Shakespeare Productions |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/21/best-shakespeare-productions-twelfth-night |website=thegurdian|date=21 April 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The best Shakespeare comedies |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/best-shakespeare-comedies |website=timeout |date=12 October 2016}}</ref> The Danish philosopher [[Søren Kierkegaard]] opens his 1844 book ''[[Philosophical Fragments]]'' with the quote "Better well hanged than ill wed", a paraphrase of Feste's comment to Maria in Act 1, Scene 5: "Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage". [[Nietzsche]] also refers passingly to ''Twelfth Night'' (specifically, to Sir Andrew Aguecheek's suspicion, expressed in Act 1, Scene 3, that his excessive intake of beef is having an inverse effect on his wit) in the third essay of his ''[[Genealogy of Morality]]''.

Agatha Christie's 1940 mystery novel ''[[Sad Cypress]]'' draws its title from a song in Act II, Scene IV of ''Twelfth Night''.

The protagonists of [[Vita Sackville-West]]'s 1930 novel ''[[The Edwardians]]'' are named Sebastian and Viola, and are brother and sister. In her introduction to the novel, [[Victoria Glendinning]] writes: "Sebastian is the boy-heir that Vita would like to have been... Viola is very like the girl that Vita actually was."<ref>The Edwardians, Introduction p. xi, Virago Modern Classics, 1983.</ref>

American playwright [[Ken Ludwig]] wrote a play inspired by the details of ''Twelfth Night'', called ''Leading Ladies.''

[[Cassandra Clare]]'s 2009 novel ''[[City of Glass (Mortal Instruments)|City of Glass]]'' contains chapter names inspired by quotations of Antonio and Sebastian.

British [[Neoprog]] band [[Twelfth Night (band)|Twelfth Night]] is named after the play.

Two of the dogs in the film ''[[Hotel for Dogs (film)|Hotel for Dogs]]'' are twins called Sebastian and Viola.

[[Clive Barker]]'s short story "[[Books of Blood#"Sex, Death and Starshine"|Sex, Death and Starshine]]" revolves around a doomed production of ''Twelfth Night.''

[[The Baker Street Irregulars]] believe [[Sherlock Holmes]]'s birthday to be 6 January due to the fact that Holmes quotes twice from ''Twelfth Night'' whereas he quotes only once from other Shakespeare plays.

Characters in [[Shirley Jackson]]'s 1959 novel, ''[[The Haunting of Hill House]],'' frequently quote Feste's song, O Mistress Mine. More specifically, the line "journeys end in lovers meeting" repeats throughout the text, spoken most frequently by Eleanor. 

The ''[[Kiddy Grade]]'' characters [[List of Kiddy Grade characters#Viola and Cesario|Viola and Cesario]] are named for Viola and her [[alter ego]] Cesario.

[[Elizabeth Hand]]'s novella ''Illyria'' features a high school production of ''Twelfth Night'', containing many references to the play, especially Feste's song.

The 2006 romantic comedy ''[[She's the Man]]'' is loosely based on ''Twelfth Night''.

One of ''[[Club Penguin]]''{{'}}s plays, ''Twelfth Fish'', is a spoof of Shakespeare's works. It is a story about a countess, a jester, and a bard who catch a fish that talks. As the play ends, they begin eating the fish. Many of the lines are parodies of Shakespeare.

[[Sara Farizan]]'s 2014 young adult novel "Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel" features a high school production of the play, where the "new girl" Saskia plays Viola/Cesario and catches the attention of the main character, Leila.

[[Vidyadhar Gokhale]]'s play ''Madanachi Manjiri'' (मदनाची मंजिरी) is an adaptation of ''Twelfth Night''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aathavanitli-gani.com/Natak/Madanachi_Manjiri |title=मदनाची मंजिरी |website=aathavanitli-gani.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221174516/https://www.aathavanitli-gani.com/Natak/Madanachi_Manjiri |archive-date=21 February 2021}}</ref>

[[West Ambrose]]'s book ''The Last Boy on Earth'' is inspired by ''Twelfth Night'' <ref>{{cite web|url=https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-the-last-boy-on-earth-author-west-ambrose/#more-37938|title=Exclusive Interview: “The Last Boy On Earth” Author West Ambrose}}</ref>. The work is a platonic dialogue focusing on queerness, disability, and science fiction elements found within the play.

== See also ==

* [[List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
{{refbegin|25em|small=y}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Donno |editor-first=Elizabeth Story |title=Twelfth Night |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge]] |year=2003 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Mahood |editor-first=M.M. |title=Twelfth Night |publisher=Penguin |year=1995 }}
* {{cite book |last=Pennington |first=Michael |title=Twelfth Night: A users' guide |place=New York |year=2000 }}
* {{cite book |last=Mulherin |first=Jennifer |section=Twelfth Night |title=Shakespeare for Everyone }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Twelfth Night}}
{{Commons category|Twelfth Night}}
{{Wikiquote|Twelfth Night}}
;Digital editions
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/twelfth-night}}{{gutenberg|no=1526|name=Twelfth Night}}
* {{librivox book | title=Twelfth Night | author=William Shakespeare}}
* [http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/TN_Navigator/ ''Twelfth Night'' Navigator] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205034622/http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/TN_Navigator/ |date=5 February 2015 }} Includes annotated text, line numbers, scene index with scene summaries, and a search engine.

;Educational resources
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071124035249/http://www.webenglishteacher.com/12night.html Lesson plans for ''Twelfth Night''] at Web English Teacher
* [http://www.shmoop.com/twelfth-night/ ''Twelfth Night''] study guide and teacher resources – themes, quotes, multimedia, study questions

;Other sources
* {{IBDB show|8931}}
* {{IOBDB show||Twelfth Night}}
* [http://www.bl.uk/works/twelfth-night ''Twelfth Night''] at the British Library
* For an analysis of various characters in ''Twelfth Night'', one may refer to Pinaki Roy's essay "''Epiphanies'': Rereading Select Characters in William Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night''", published in ''Yearly Shakespeare – 2012''  {{ISSN|0976-9536}} 10, April 2012: 53–60.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_mz6l8Mgk Video Program] featuring a visit to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis featuring the July–August 2000 production of The Twelfth Night, directed by Joe Dowling, and featuring interviews with actors Charles Keating and Opal Alladin plus video clips from the play (28:40).
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOG8DxWPeRI ''Twelfth Night (2018)''] on [[YouTube]]

{{Shakespeare}}
{{Twelfth Night}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for ''Twelfth Night''
| list =
{{DramaDesk Play 1955–1974}}
{{DramaDesk PlayRevival 2001–2025}}
{{OlivierAward PlayRevival 2001–2025}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Twelfth Night| ]]
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[[Category:Cross-dressing in theatre]]
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