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A review by autogeek
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
5.0
Once again, I did this in audiobook form from Audible. It is a performance version of the play produced by Smartpass and has a commentary option. This play is often called a melancholic or dark comedy. This is a little confusing, since, in comparison with most other Shakespeare plays this is actually quite positive .
Like all Shakespeare plays the language is archaic and convoluted, but is less so in this play. The commentary does an excellent job summarizing the play and putting things into context and in so doing, helps massively in understanding and appreciating the play. A lot of the comedy in the play comes from the actors and their actions and therefore this play might possibly be better seen than heard. But if you do so, you wouldn't be able to able to take advantage of the commentary which is probably a bigger loss than the acting is a gain. But luckily, the commentary also takes care to mention when a specific actor or a action would have got a great laugh from the Elizabethan audience and so you don't miss a whole lot in the audiobook.
Overall, the play is very good and the commentary makes it excellent. Recommended to read/listen with commentary.
Spoiler
and even has a happy ending for all charactersLike all Shakespeare plays the language is archaic and convoluted, but is less so in this play. The commentary does an excellent job summarizing the play and putting things into context and in so doing, helps massively in understanding and appreciating the play. A lot of the comedy in the play comes from the actors and their actions and therefore this play might possibly be better seen than heard. But if you do so, you wouldn't be able to able to take advantage of the commentary which is probably a bigger loss than the acting is a gain. But luckily, the commentary also takes care to mention when a specific actor or a action would have got a great laugh from the Elizabethan audience and so you don't miss a whole lot in the audiobook.
Overall, the play is very good and the commentary makes it excellent. Recommended to read/listen with commentary.