Twelfth Night (Was ihr wollt)

Illyria first appears as a life-saving island after a dramatic shipwreck, but soon becomes the setting for illusionary games of hide-and-seek with identities and romantic entanglements filled with desire: having been stranded, Viola believes that her beloved twin brother Sebastian has drowned and disguises herself as Cesario in order to serve the Duke Orsino. Orsino is crazy about the mourning, reclusive Countess Olivia and sends Cesario as his messenger of love, with whom Olivia then falls in love, not suspecting that Cesario is really Viola, who by now has also fallen in love with Orsino. When Sebastian does turn up alive and well and is mistaken for Cesario, the chaos of projections reaches its zenith. "Was ihr wollt" ("Twelfth Night") fills the stage with the carnivalesque and also with cruel games of appearance or reality, deception or truthfulness, addiction or love – full of absurd humour, melancholy and plenty of music. Antú Romero Nunes will add even more twists and turns to this game of masquerade, in which the audience always knows more than the players themselves: what do you want?!    

Antú Romero Nunes is a German theatre and opera director with Portuguese-Chilean roots. He has been a member of the theatre directing team at the Theater Basel since 2020. With a subtle levity, he trusts in the joy of playing, also with the audience’s expectations, and enjoys catapulting comedies of mistaken identity into grotesque, highly musical heights.