Twelfth Night (version 2)

Written by William Shakespeare

Narrated by LibriVox Community

Shakespeare's great festive comedy, probably written and first performed around 1601, follows the adventures of twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated from each other by a shipwreck. Viola, believing her brother dead, disguises herself as a page in order to serve the lovesick Duke Orsino, who has been rejected by the Countess Olivia. The ensemble cast includes a roster of wonderfully comic characters: Olivia's drunken uncle Sir Toby Belch, his foolish friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, the witty serving woman Maria, the social-climbing steward Malvolio, and the clever, riddling clown Feste. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

Cast
Duke Orsino: Algy Pug
Curio/First Officer: Charlotte Duckett
Valentine/Second Officer: Nathaniel W. C. Higgins
Viola: Elizabeth Klett
Captain: Alan Mapstone
Sir Toby Belch: Bruce Pirie
Maria: Amanda Friday
Sir Andrew Aguecheek: mb
Clown: Chris Marcellus
Olivia: Arielle Lipshaw
Malvolio: Timothy Ferguson
Antonio: Ernst Pattynama
Sebastian: Caprisha Page
Fabian: Allison Walker Elders
Servant/Priest: Grace Garrett
Narrator: Tiffany Halla Colonna

Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.