TEHRAN – The romantic comedy play “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare will return on the stage of Homa Theater in Tehran from January 21.

Mohsen Sadeghi Esfahani is the director of the 85-minute play that has Borna Ansari, Elham Jeddi, Arash Rasekh, Hamid Rashid, Negar Salahshour, Elnaz Shahbazi, Khashayar Ghaedrahmati, Shahab Nezamdoust, and Amin Simiar in the cast.

This is the third round of the performance of the play at Homa Theater after its first two rounds, staged in the past three months, were welcomed by the audience.

Believed to have been written around 1601–1602, the play is an allusion to the night of festivity preceding the Christian celebration of the Epiphany, and it combines love, confusion, and joyful discovery.

“Twelfth Night” is a fast-paced romantic comedy with several interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities, and practical jokes.

The story centers on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (disguised as a page named Cesario) falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who, in turn, is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she is a man.

The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from Barnabe Rich's short story "Of Apollonius and Silla", based on a story by Matteo Bandello. 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the “Bard of Avon” or simply “the Bard”. 

His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “King Lear,” and “Macbeth,” all considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) such as “The Winter's Tale” and “The Tempest,” and collaborated with other playwrights.

Homa Theater is located at Ziba Dead-End, Nofel Loshato St., Hafez St.

SS/SAB