Taking a classic and making it your own is tricky and unfortunately does not always work out, but that is what the Melbourne Fringe Festival is for – trying something new and seeing if it works.

The show, 1/2, is a very simplified summary of William Shakespeares’ Twelfth Night.

A man, Malvolio, is in love with a girl, Olivia, who falls in love with a guy, Cesario, who is really a girl, Viola, pretending to be a guy. Viola falls in love with a guy, Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, and the brother of the girl pretending to be Cesario (Sebastian), turns up and also falls in love with Olivia. Indeed, it’s a very convoluted story line, but hopefully this summary made sense.

The show is structured in a way of two plays being performed out of one, but both performed simultaneously in one room. Director Sharmini Kumar chose to separate Malvolio’s storyline and give it its own stage. The rest of the convoluted tale of love is then condensed. However, the tag of “Twice as much in half the time” is misleading as you only get to see the storyline you choose, so really it should be: half as much in half the time.

Turning up at Brunswick Uniting Church, the audience has two choices; sit to the side of the entrance and watch Malvolios tale of unrequited love or sit in the pews and watch the main plot performed in front of the alter. This can prove to be a difficult task for indecisive people and reviewers. We chose Malvolio, but I would have liked to have seen the other play as well.

You don’t need to know what is going on in the other storyline to comprehend what’s going on in front of you, although it helps to be familiar with the whole play because when distracted by the other stage, you could then easily figure out what was going on. 

Indeed, pulling off such an intricate feat should be commended, especially to Kumar and the cast for trying something new and exciting. Unfortunately though, it didn’t pay off, the structure of the play making the production fall short. The beginning was a shock to the system, with the audience’s attention immediately pulled in two different directions, not sure where to look or who to listen to. Towards the end, the process for the brain becomes easier as the initial shock wears off, however your attention is still being split.

Certain parts of Malvolio’s play were clearly dragged out or put in, like audience participation and random songs sung by the Fool, just to make this subplot go on for as long as the main plot. In these moments it was easy to be distracted by the other stage.

Costumes vaguely indicated the play was set in the 1920s, essentially ending up with a timeless look which did not distract from the play. Questionable use of hair piece for Malvolio, not really sure what that was about, if only to make a mildly funny joke at one point and the Fools costume could have been toned down. The use of a puppet for one character was almost pointless, however the puppeteer who was also another character handled the interactions between the two really well. 

Mumbling was occasionally an issue, made worse because the actors were competing with actors on the other stage and background music. Generally you could see the commitment and passion all the actors had for this challenging play, which in a different space may have worked better. 

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the show.