Filter Theatre breathes new life into an old play

While students may be thinking about the upcoming 100 Nights dance, William Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night” will be performed Tuesday at the Williams Arts Center.

The performance will feature the renowned Filter Theatre Company in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Directed by Sean Holmes, the fast-paced 90-minute rendition of the classic English play, Filter Theater will manager to incorporate all aspects of the comedy—romance, mistaken identity, gender-bending intrigue and satire—witha modern twist.

“It’s about music and it’s about love,” said co-director Oliver Dimsdale, when explaining why the group chose to perform “Twelfth Night.”“You don’t need anything else apart from a band, music, and people who fall in love with each other.”

Holmes has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company several times in the past, including renditions the plays “Julius Caesar”and “Richard III.” He has also been the artistic director of Lyrical Hammersmith, a theater in London that prides itself on “groundbreaking”productions, according to its official website. The co-production of “Twelfth Night”with Filter Theater is a “radically-cut, fast-paced version of Shakespeare’s much-loved comedy where classical verse meets riotous gig,”according to Filter Theater’s website

Filter’s jam session, shuffling folk, jazz and heavy metal style of music and performance allows them to perform a liberally-edited version of the sixteenth century play. The Daily Telegraph calls it“Rock-and-roll Shakespeare”and describes Filter as “a company blessed with wit, style, and a touch of magic.”