ACTORS will bring Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to the Central Deborah Goldmine from Saturday.
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Theatre company Uncertain Curtain Theatre will stage the comedy about the madness of love, mistaken identity, and the folly of ambition over a four-show run.
Elaina Bell plays Viola, who finds herself identifying as a male page named Cesario to find work.
"It's so much fun," they said.
"Being a non-binary person, I think it's important that people be cast into roles that are affirming of their gender."
Finding her character had been incredibly rewarding, Elaina said.
"I really love the depth and range of Viola," they said.
The character can swing between strong emotions and confusion.
"Even when there is a primary emotion showing there is often a secondary one," Elaina said.
They enjoyed playing with the way each emotion could bounce off another.
Alisha Lakey plays Olivia, a countess teetering on the edge of class-conscious propriety and lovesickness for Viola, who she only knows as Cesario.
"It's insane to think that Shakespeare has given such depth to his female characters," she said.
"It's interesting considering the time it was written and what we have to work with in this day and age."
Twelfth Night is Uncertain Curtain's fourth production.
The company formed in 2018 and is a neurodiverse group.
It collaborates with people of all backgrounds including neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals - including those with Autism, ADHD, Tourette's Syndrome, Dyslexia and OCD.
The company wanted to run Twelfth Night after the success of another Shakespeare comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, producer Sarah-Jane Fawcett said.
"It's fun, it's romantic, it's mischievous, so we decided to do something we would enjoy doing," she said.
The show will be staged at the surface of the mine, amid the poppet head, industrial sheds and watercourse that resembles the Bendigo Creek from a different era.
"We lean into the goldfields theme," Ms Fawcett said.
For example, Antonio is not so much the captain of a shipwrecked vessel as a bushranger, and Orsino more of a George Lansell-style mining magnate than a 16th century European royal.
Opening night is sold out but tickets are still available for Sunday and next weekend.
Each show begins at 6.30pm. For more information or to book ti ckets, visit uncertaincurtaintheatre.com.au
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
