Revivals of Shakespeare 's plays and other works have been featured in nearly 500 films and/or videos world-wide. Outrageous high comedy ensues as the pangs of unrequited love affect the unforgettable characters of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. While the lovelorn Duke Orsino plots to win the heart of the mourning Olivia, an alliance of servants and hangers-on scheme against the high-handedness of Olivia’s steward, the pompous Malvolio. When Orsino engages the cross-dressed Viola, who has disguised herself as a young man under the name Cesario, to plead with Olivia on his behalf, a bittersweet and hilarious chain of events follows.
There have been many Revivals of the classical Shakespeare comedy “Twelfth Night or What You Will”. Tim Carroll’s version however, leaves the Shakespearean language largely intact.
The story: A great storm at sea capsizes a ship. A young woman named Viola (Samuel Barnett) is washed ashore, but believes her twin brother Sebastian has drowned. Finding herself in the unfamiliar kingdom of Ilyria, where a young woman might be at hazard, she dresses in her brother 's uniform, cuts her hair, pastes on a false mustache, and poses as a young man named Cesario.
She wins a position at the court of young Duke Orsino (Liam Brennan), who is desperately in love with the Lady Olivia (Mark Rylance). The Duke sends his new page to stand before Olivia 's gate and press his case. But there are complications: Viola falls in love with Orsino, and Olivia falls in love