Older dramas can be hard to produce. Sometimes the dialogue can sound dated and tired and can take on new meaning that is entirely different from what the playwright intended. However, audiences still respond well to the works of William Shakespeare.

Why is this? What in Shakespeare’s canon is so resonant that it still holds the same weight it did when first produced?

I’ll be the first to say that I don’t have a good answer to that question. The only explanation I can offer is that we haven’t really changed much. What we find harrowing is still alive in his drama and what we find hilarious is still there in his comedies.

“Twelfth Night,” one of Shakespeare’s outwardly funny comedies, was performed by TheatreUNI last weekend and directed by Matthew Weedman. The plot centers around a young woman named Viola who is shipwrecked on the kingdom of Illyria. Her twin brother, Sebastian, is assumed dead and she takes to dressing as a man for her own safety. The ruler of Illyria, Duke Orsino, employs Viola (going by the name Cesario) in making the beautiful Oliva fall in love with him.

However, Olivia falls in love with Cesario and Viola falls in love with Orsino. Complications arise when the very much alive Sebastian arrives at Illyria. There is also a subplot wherein the hilarious Sir Toby Belch and Olivia’s maid Maria try to make a foolish steward named Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him. While the plot may seem confusing, it is the perfect setup to for an uproarious comedy.

The set for the play struck me as very realistic; it looked like a set that a Shakespeare play would be performed on long ago. It was simple with a large doorway, pillars and old fashioned-feeling wood on the floors. There was also the added bonus of the concert. Musicians sat on top of the main structure for the entire play and partially interacted with the events.

When it comes to acting, Shakespeare dialogue has a certain rhythm to it that is very specific. I am often enthralled by actors who can pull it off. All of the actors in this production, no matter the size of the part, performed excellently.

Erika Kuhn played Olivia in a way that I did not expect. When I’ve read the play in the past, Olivia always comes off as rather pathetic and love-sick, to me but Kuhn made her hilarious. In many ways, she is pathetic and love-sick but the desperation she shows makes her entertaining rather than sad.

Michael Evans played Toby Belch, probably one of the funniest characters in all of Shakespeare’s work. Belch is written as a drunken oaf and Evans’ performance has plenty of that kind of comedy but there is something else there, a kind of I-don’t-really-care-at-all attitude. This makes the scenes where he does care that much funnier.

Marjorie Gast played one of the more challenging roles of Feste the clown. The physical aspect of Gast’s performance impressed me the most. She was to be able to sing, dance, leap around and perform acrobatic stunts all while reciting very difficult dialogue. Integrity Narcisse played the tragically funny Malvolio. Narcisse played the part very well, regardless of the fact that the role is usually cast to a man. Though Malvolio is a tragic character, Narcisse still upheld the comedy that Malvolio brings to the show.

In short, I think this was a massive undertaking that was pulled off very well. It is no small feat to tell Shakespeare in a way that translates well to modern audience, but this production did just that.