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Stratford’s ‘Twelfth Night’ set for cinema – Metro US

Stratford’s ‘Twelfth Night’ set for cinema

STRATFORD, Ont. – The Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 2011 production of “Twelfth Night” will hit the big screen in March.

The festival and Melbar Entertainment Group plan to screen the music-filled comedy at Cineplex theatres in Canada on March 10 at 12:45 p.m. local time, and on March 21 at 7 p.m.

Directed by Des McAnuff, the production stars Tony Award-winning stage and screen star Brian Dennehy as drunken Sir Toby Belch.

Andrea Runge and Trent Pardy play twins Viola and Sebastian, whose separation at sea sets off a whirlwind of romantic misadventures and identity mishaps in the carnival-like setting of Illyria.

Other cast members include Stephen Ouimette as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Tom Rooney as Malvolio, Ben Carlson as Feste, Cara Ricketts as Maria, and Mike Shara as Orsino.

Toronto filmmaker Barry Avrich produced and directed the cinematic version of the stage show.

McAnuff also provided the eclectic score, along with Michael Roth.

Other festival productions to hit the big screen in recent years include “The Tempest” and “Caesar and Cleopatra,” also produced by Avrich.

The festival’s filmed production of “Twelfth Night,” said Avrich, “is a virtual kaleidoscope of colour, music and performance.”

“Des McAnuff takes Shakespeare and gives it the musical inspiration of the Beatles and the theatricality of Cirque du Soleil,” Avrich said in a statement.

The Stratford festival’s 60th season begins April 12 and includes
“Much Ado About Nothing,” “Henry V,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and Christopher Plummer’s one-man show, “A Word or Two.”

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Online: www.cineplex.com/events