Play Audiobook Sample
Twelfth Night Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(0.00) - 0 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
As the generating force of its plot, Twelfth Night uses a device which has since become a staple in comedy: gender confusion. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian, are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, a country ruled by the melancholy Duke Orsino. The twins are separated and Viola is led to believe that her brother has perished. She disguises herself as a male under the name of Cesario and makes her way to the ducal court, where Orsino employs her as a messenger, to communicate his love to the reclusive lady, Olivia—who is not willing to return his affection. Olivia is also the target of two other romantic schemes. Her pompous steward, Malvolio, has persuaded himself that Olivia has fallen for him but is too diffident to reveal her passion. Her dissipated uncle, Sir Toby Belch, has plans to set up a match for her with Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a feeble-minded squire. Viola/Cesario falls in love with Orsino and Olivia with Cesario, but all of the parties are obliged to hide their feelings. Having survived the shipwreck, Sebastian now appears on the scene and contracts a secret marriage with Olivia, who believes him to be Cesario. In the final act, Viola reveals her true identity …
Featuring Emma Faye as Viola, Kendra Murray as Olivia, Cate Barratt as Sir Toby Belch, Alan Weyman as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Lillian Rachel as Malvolio, Marty Krz as Feste and Laura Richcreek as Orsino. Also featuring the voices of Claudia Anglade, Linda Barrans, PJ Morgan, Denis Daly and John Burlinson.
Songs arranged by Alan Weyman and Marty Krz
Audio edited by Denis Daly
Text kindly provided by playshakespeare.com
Download and start listening now!
“Twelfth Night is perhaps the most graceful and harmonious comedy Shakespeare ever wrote. It is certainly that in which all the notes the poet strikes, the note of seriousness and of raillery, of passion, of tenderness, and of laughter, blend in the richest and fullest concord. It is like a symphony in which no strain can be dispensed with, or like a picture veiled in a golden haze, into which all the colours resolve themselves.”
— George Brandes, author of William Shakespeare: A Critical Study
Quotes
-
“Romantic pathos, as in Much Ado About Nothing, is the dominant note of the main plot of Twelfth Night, but Shakespeare neutralises the tone of sadness by his mirthful portrayal of Malvolio, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Fabian, the clown Feste, and Maria, all of whom are his own creations. The ludicrous gravity of Malvolio proved exceptionally popular on the stage.”
— Sidney Lee, author of A Life of Shakespeare
Twelfth Night Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today.
About the Narrators
Born in the UK, Lillian Rachel grew up in East Anglia and later moved north to Durham. She then married a US military man and spent time hopping across the pond to North America and back to Europe. Lillian works from her professional-grade home studio equipped with industry-best technology in sunny California. Outside the booth, she’s a wife, mum, dog rescuer, and lover of perfect pastries.
Linda Barrans is a British narrator with a fondness for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. She wrote the Sam the Sheep books to make positive use of the time during COVID lockdown, and to give herself and her friend Cate Barratt a modern piece to record together.
Denis Daly is an audiobook narrator and codirector of Voices of Today, an Australian spoken word production house.
John Burlinson is an American audiobook narrator.