"If you let it, it will be funny all on its own" says director Stephen Unwin.
English Touring Theatre, of which Unwin is the founding artistic director, is renowned for its clear yet faithful stagings of classics and new works.
"A little on stage goes a long way," is one of his mottoes.
The ETT also has a reputation for breaking fresh talent (see Alan Cumming's Hamlet and Alexandra Gilbreath's Hedda Gabler), so it's no surprise to find a Rada-fresh actor in the lead role.
Georgina Rich will be undertaking her first professional engagement as Viola, the shipwrecked twin who disguises herself as a boy in order to enter Count Orsino's service, is sent to woo the beautiful Olivia on his behalf and finds herself swept into a merry-go-round of unrequited love.
While Unwin has never directed this comedy, he has just published an adaptation and critique, and pitches Twelfth Night as "one of Shakespeare's best - not rough around the edges or maudlin like his later ones".
From a company which has toured 30 productions in the past decade and won 18 major awards, this production should prove capable of stimulating our Shakespeare-sated appetites.
Curtain 7.45pm, Thurs and Sat matinee 2.30pm, Tickets £13-£24, Tel: 08700 606650
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