After 17 wondrous years of Open Air Summer Shakespeare in Mona Vale Gardens, Top Dog Theatre has come indoors to tread the boards of the magnificent Isaac Theatre Royal and perform Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays.

Twelfth Night is Shakespeare’s brilliant fast-paced romantic comedy, brimming with interwoven plots of romance, mistaken identities, drunken songs and dances, farcical fights and practical jokes to delight and entertain the audience. Separated from her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a boy and becomes a servant to Duke Orsino. So begins this whirlwind tale where music is the food of love and anything is possible for these romantic castaways.

Come and revel with some of Shakespeare’s most notorious characters – Malvolia, resplendent in her yellow stockings, the wise jester, Feste, and of course the drunken rogue, Sir Toby Belch. “A performance as never seen before,” says director Derek Doddington. With a top-class cast, Twelfth Night aims to bring out every inch of comedy to attract all ages.

Top Dog has secured the exceptional talents of Hester Ullyart to play the iconic role of Viola/Cesario. She has worked with many of the UK’s foremost theatre companies including lead roles at Shakespeare’s Globe. Her Aotearoa work includes A Streetcar Named Desire (Court Theatre), The Butler Dresses Again, The Die (Lyttelton Arts Factory) and her self-performed hit solo noir Paragon Dreams. An award winning writer and performer (New Zealand Fringe Winner, New Zealand Poetry Slam Finalist 2020), Hester is currently filming a lead role in the second series of the original New Zealand drama One Lane Bridge. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. 

Will Alexander plays Duke Orsino. Will was trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He then toured many notable theatres: the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the Soho Theatre in London, the Barbican, the Theatre Royal in Bath, as well as performing in Amsterdam, Taiwan and Romania. He has also performed at the Court Theatre. His TV credits include Outlander and Doctors and his Pop-Up Globe credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Measure for Measure.