X-Fest The "Twelve" Days of Summer
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
It’s not always easy finding a new and interesting way to present a 400 year-old play. Over the last seven years, Project X Theatre Productions has made something of a career of updating or re-visioning Shakespeare’s works to appeal to a broad audience base. Concepts for past shows have included contemporary Hollywood, post-apocalypse, 80s Karaoke, 1880s circus and graphic novel. This year, director Derek Rein has found a fascinating world just under the surface of 12th Night, or What You Will.

Rein, in researching the play realized that it is an exploration as much of fate and destiny as it is of love – and chose to bring that theme to the forefront. Feste, perhaps Shakespeare’s best-known and best-loved Fool, is a fortune-teller, a keeper of the fates of others. She sees and knows all.

“The characters in 12th Night end up where they end up – whether in marriage or completely alone – because of fate” says Rein. “And having Feste, the smartest character in the play, somewhat in control of that destiny felt right.”

The concept truly begins with an aesthetic – the colourful, mysterious world of Tarot cards. Those jewel-coloured images you see bring to mind a touch of Italian Renaissance, and that is exactly where Rein and costume designer Bonnie Pavlovic took their inspiration. Costumes for the piece are mostly traditional Elizabethan, but bold in colour and cut – a stunning display of design prowess and workmanship. “It will be a feast for the eyes, as well as the ears,” says Co-Artistic Producer Samantha MacDonald. She adds, “It’s not to be missed.”

X Fest 2010, featuring 12th Night, or What You Will paired with Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show opens July 21 and runs nightly, except Sundays, until August 14th. Showtimes are 7:30pm. Tickets are available now through Kamloops Live! Box Office, 250-374-LIVE or online at www.kamloopslive.com.

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