‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Richard III’ in New York

A powerful production from the Donmar Warehouse has just swept through Brooklyn with its all-female Julius Caesar. And now, the Old Globe Theatre’s company is delighting Broadway with an all-male Twelfth Night and Richard III.

Never mind. What theatergoers are learning about Shakespeare this year is that it really doesn’t matter who plays whom, as long as they recite those glorious words.

Indeed, everything about these two current productions— presented just as they were 400 years ago— is wonderful. You rarely hear Shakespeare’s poetry spoken so beautifully and clearly on the stage. It’s almost as if you’re hearing these plays for the first time.

Dressing the actors

Plan ahead, because you don’t want to miss the pre-show ritual. A half-hour before each performance, these players get into character and costume on stage. The players, wearing long white linen shirts (just as the Elizabethan actors did), are aided by dressers who help them into layers of elaborate costume pieces, ruffled collars, wigs and – for the female roles – the traditional whiteface makeup. Actors vocalize, musicians tune up – it’s all part of the preparation ceremony.

The stage is as it was in Elizabethan times, too, replicating the playing area of a theater or a hall or a palace, where productions were habitually performed. An empty space is flanked by two tiers of spectator seats on either side, topped by an upstage balcony where musicians play authentic period instruments. The music strikes up, the stage clears, the pages light real candles in the chandeliers, and presto! You’re transported back to the time (c.1600) when these plays premiered.

These elements, supporting a company of 20 expertly trained actors, represent only the beginning of this memorable experience. Center-stage in each of the productions is the magnetic actor Mark Rylance (the company’s first artistic director), playing Olivia in Twelfth Night and the title role in Richard III in repertory.

Rylance’s comedic genius

Dressing Rylance as Olivia in the pre-show is a scene-stealing event. Rylance is poured into a full-length, long-sleeved black dress, topped with a starched white ruffled collar. Above it, his face— painted stark white with brilliantly rouged lips, topped with a black wig— bears the look of sheer astonishment at his own remarkable transformation!

Rylance plays the role of the lovelorn Countess with elegance, eloquence, grace, poise, and not one drop of camp. For Olivia, Rylance has made several distinctive choices: the mincing walk, the fluttering hands that betray passion, the nervous tugging at the collar that expresses agitation. His/her trembling voice modulates between low tones and sharp outbursts of emotion. Above all, his/her comedic timing is impeccable— as Olivia finds herself falling in love with Cesario, only to discover that he is a she (Viola) who has in turn discovered her long-lost twin brother (Sebastian).

Rylance applies the same comedic genius to Richard III. Not only is the king a homicidal, sadistic monster, he’s also a hilarious clown. Transforming his body from the delicate, sprightly Olivia into the slouching, deformed Richard, Rylance stalks the stage, alternately terrorizing and mesmerizing his victims into submission, as he murders his way to the throne. Richard’s seduction of Anne (whose husband he has just murdered) is dazzling in its audacity – as is his attempt to convince Elizabeth (whose two sons he has just slaughtered) to give him her daughter’s hand.

Best of two worlds

Once he wears the crown and the golden robe, Rylance plays Richard’s descent into derangement and defeat with a blinding intensity. His speech becomes jerky and disjointed; his grotesque body twitches in a spellbinding paroxysm of rage, fear and agony.

“Some are born great,” explains Malvolio, “some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.” He could have been talking about the numerous fine actors who’ll playing Shakespeare this season. In New York, the roster includes Harriet Walter as Brutus, Ethan Hawke as Macbeth, Orlando Bloom as Romeo, David Harewood as Oberon, and both Frank Langella and Michael Pennington as King Lear. In London, there’s Jude Law as Henry V, Simon Russell Beale as King Lear, David Tennant as Richard II.

What distinguishes Rylance from these luminaries is that he’s an American-born actor, trained in England in the classical tradition. So he enjoys the best of both worlds– American freedom, boldness and originality, coupled with rigorous British technical training.

Art of reinvention

Rylance is of medium stature, lithe and lean, and so doesn’t tower above his peers. He’s more like an extraterrestrial, landing on Broadway every few years to dazzle audiences with his exuberant versatility. His riotous performance in Boeing-Boeing (2008) transported a forgotten French comedy into a runaway hit. His larger-than life Johnny Byron in Jerusalem (2011) garnered him a Tony Award. Add these two unforgettable Shakespearean roles and you behold an actor of incomparable range, capable of reinventing himself with every role and energizing his fellow players without upstaging them.

Rylance is supported in both productions by memorable portraitures from Stephen Frye as a touching Malvolio and Samuel Barnett as a lively Viola and fierce Elizabeth. Under Tim Carroll’s clear direction, you forget that men are playing men. Instead, you focus on the clarity of the stories and those sparkling words, so often swallowed in less skilled mouths and obscured by “high concept” productions that upstage the poetry itself.

“We’ll strive to please you every day,” sings the fool at the close of Twelfth Night. This scintillating double bill offers pleasure enough for a lifetime of theatergoing. It will save you a round-trip airfare to London, too.