Twelfth Night (Was ihr wollt)

What do you want? A storm, a dramatic shipwreck, and the only salvation is the legendary land of Illyria, which turns out to be a place of great deception about reality and appearance. The survivor, Viola, believes her beloved twin brother Sebastian has drowned and disguises herself as Cesario in order to find refuge as a messenger at the court of Duke Orsino. The Duke is hopelessly obsessed with Countess Olivia, who is also mourning her brother, and sends Cesario to her as his messenger of love, hoping that Olivia will listen to his youthful appearance. Olivia, however, falls for Cesario, unaware that he is actually Viola, who in turn has fallen in love with Orsino. When Viola's twin brother Sebastian then reappears very much alive and, due to his resemblance to Viola disguised as a man, is mistaken for Cesario, the chaos of illusions and projections is complete. "Twelfth Night" sets the stage for a carnivalesque and also cruel game of deception and truthfulness, addiction and love, power and powerlessness – full of madness, melancholy, and music. Is the only one in Illyria who is not foolish the fool? In any case, our social and sexual identities seem to be a far more volatile construct than we often want them to be. Antú Romero Nunes is a German theater and opera director with Portuguese-Chilean roots. With subtle lightheartedness, he relies on Shakespeare's joy in theater and the interplay with the audience's expectations, catapulting the famous comedy into further twists and turns: What do you want? By Amely Joana Haag