With the staging of “What You Will,” Shakespeare’s lovers’ and mistaken-identity comedy, directed by Anne Lenk, the Thalia Theater in Hamburg opened its season under the new artistic director Sonja Anders. Lenk has gently updated the play’s text from its 1602 premiere in a few places. Set designer Judith Oswald has constructed an ascending wooden tribunal—a symbol of the tiers of a liminal world—upon which the musicians of the Staircase Orchestra pick up and amplify Shakespeare’s linguistic rhythm.
New ensemble members Franziska Machens and Jannik Hinsch shine as Orsino, Duke of Illyria, and Countess Olivia, alongside Gloria Odosi as Viola and Jeremy Mockridge as Olivia’s steward Malvolio. Orsino pines for Olivia. After a storm in Illyria, Viola is shipwrecked and, in disguise as a man, becomes Orsino’s confidant and messenger—and Olivia’s beloved.
A production full of slapstick
In the fervor of a chaotic night, desire, intrigue, and violence mingle among the characters. Lenk gives the ensemble plenty of room for inventive acting. Jannik Hinsch belts out a love song that recalls Broadway-tinged musicals. Jeremy Mockridge, stirred by a plot spun by Olivia’s maid Maria, becomes smitten with Olivia, which yields a great deal of comedy.
Some scenes, however, lean quite hard on farce. Sibylle Wallum has laden the opulent costumes with a symbolism drawn from nature. In the end, the director sharpens questions of desire and identity, and a surprising number of same-sex couples emerge among the pairings taking shape.
What You Will
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