SOURCE: Review of Twelfth Night in Cahiers Élisa-béthains, No. 33, April, 1988, pp. 63-4.

The newly-formed Renaissance Theatre Company was launched in style at the Riverside Studios with a sell-out run of Twelfth Night, directed by Kenneth Branagh and produced by David Parfitt, who together direct the new company. Other interesting productions to be taken on tour in 1988 are Much Ado About Nothing (director, Judi Dench), Hamlet (Derek Jacobi), and As You Like It (Geraldine McEwan—who was taking a keen interest in Twelfth Night the evening we were there).

This was a very brightly-lit seasonal Twelfth Night with a Christmas tree used to hide the conspirators from Malvolio. The very wide stage at the Riverside Studios was unobtrusively broken up into different areas, and yet the size was also exploited cleverly (designer, Bunny Christie). On the left, a white door with steps leading up to it was used...