FLORENCE– The critically acclaimed Aquila Theatre Company sets sail for the mythical world of Illyria – and an adventurous evening of love, lust, laughter and lyrical language – as the University of North Alabama presents the professional theatre company’s latest top-quality touring production.
Aquila’s imaginative traveling ensemble will resurrect the romantic and sensuous stage comedy Twelfth Night (or, What You Will) – one of William Shakespeare’s most endearing and beguiling blends of passion, merriment, intrigue, mistaken identities and cross-dressing gender confusion – for a single performance at 7 p.m. Monday, February 10, at Norton Auditorium.
Lesley Peterson
“Because this is a touring production,” noted Dr. Lesley Peterson, an associate professor of English at UNA, “I know I can count on Aquila to use their creativity and skill to turn the limitations they face – the small cast, the need to keep the set fairly simple – into an original and innovative production that will give the audience great entertainment and will give those of us who already love this play new and thought-provoking ways of thinking about it.”
Aquila performs a full-scale Shakespearean production at UNA each spring semester through the sponsorship of the Albert S. Johnston Endowment in the UNA Department of English. The company has previously presented Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing and other timeless Shakespearean tales for enthusiastic (and intergenerational) campus audiences.
“This is a chance to see Shakespeare’s work come to life through some of the finest actors in the world,” added Melissa Thornton, operations manager in the UNA Office of University Events. “Aquila really knows the material inside and out, and the creativity and originality in their performances make the plays we’ve read – or even seen before – new and 
exciting. Their performances are enjoyable for any audience.”
“Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and deservedly so,” noted Peterson, who teaches a UNA English course on Shakespeare’s works. “It’s got music, silliness, a mind-boggling plot that manages to work itself out in the end against all odds, cross-dressing, shipwrecks, swordplay, wordplay, infatuation, drunken antics, dirty jokes and a definite dark side. Who could ask for anything more?”
Founded in London in 1991, Aquila has been based in New York since 1999. The company’s stated mission is “to bring the greatest theatrical works to the greatest number.” Their acting troupe presents a regular season of plays in New York, performs at global arts and theatre festivals and presents touring productions across American each year. Twelfth Night includes Shakespeare’s telling line, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Admission to Twelfth Night is $10 for general admission and $5 for students. Tickets are available in advance at the UNA Bookstore, Pegasus Records, Tapes and CDs and the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, all in Florence, and at Coldwater Books in Tuscumbia. For more information, call the UNA Office of University Events at 256-765-4658.
MEDIA RELEASE/UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA/TERRY PACE
