Fooling Malvolio into thinking his dreams have come true is a malicious trick. Sir Toby and his gang orchestrate the event out of annoyance, spite, and desire to amuse themselves. Yet, the scene is full of humorous lines by the duped Malvolio that are ripe for laughter if the audience is manipulated to view Malvolio as a fool undeserving of sympathy. It becomes the director’s choice to tip the balance towards darkness or comedy. Nunn chooses the former, Rylance the latter.
Nunn draws on the anger of the scene and the advantages of film to dampen the comedy of the fool and suggest the villainy of the tricksters. On the stage of the Globe, Sir Toby, Fabian, and Sir Andrew must hide without hiding and project their commentary to the theatre. In …show more content…
The live performance on stage aids this objective. Actors may direct their performance for a specific reaction more easily to a live audience than to cameras; they disrupt the fourth wall, gauge and respond to the temperature of the audience, wait for laughter, and use more dramatic performances. Stephen Fry milks his pauses, such as the scripted caesura in the line, “play with my—some rich jewel” (2.5.57), where Fry plays on the bawdiness of the joke with physical direction and a long pause. In contrast, Hawthorne passes through the pause quickly, looking at his sleeves and not giving the audience opportunity to ponder possibilities. Meanwhile, Sir Toby and his gang yelling lines from behind Malvolio’s back takes on a lighter, jesting tone as their heads poke out of the bush like moles and they muffle each other while occasionally laughing and smiling. Filming of the performance focuses much more on Malvolio than the heads in the bushes. Mediatization thus further emphasizes the comedy of Stephen Fry’s acting. Indeed, the audience is ready to laugh at him. His era-appropriate ruff, necklace, and puffed pants appear strange to the modern audience. His slowness, such as when deciphering the meaning of M.O.A.I., make him seem a dunce. Unlike Nunn’s pathetic Malvolio and schemers hidden in the bushes, Rylance’s characters encourage the audience to laugh with them and ignore most of the darkness in Maria’s
Nunn draws on the anger of the scene and the advantages of film to dampen the comedy of the fool and suggest the villainy of the tricksters. On the stage of the Globe, Sir Toby, Fabian, and Sir Andrew must hide without hiding and project their commentary to the theatre. In …show more content…
The live performance on stage aids this objective. Actors may direct their performance for a specific reaction more easily to a live audience than to cameras; they disrupt the fourth wall, gauge and respond to the temperature of the audience, wait for laughter, and use more dramatic performances. Stephen Fry milks his pauses, such as the scripted caesura in the line, “play with my—some rich jewel” (2.5.57), where Fry plays on the bawdiness of the joke with physical direction and a long pause. In contrast, Hawthorne passes through the pause quickly, looking at his sleeves and not giving the audience opportunity to ponder possibilities. Meanwhile, Sir Toby and his gang yelling lines from behind Malvolio’s back takes on a lighter, jesting tone as their heads poke out of the bush like moles and they muffle each other while occasionally laughing and smiling. Filming of the performance focuses much more on Malvolio than the heads in the bushes. Mediatization thus further emphasizes the comedy of Stephen Fry’s acting. Indeed, the audience is ready to laugh at him. His era-appropriate ruff, necklace, and puffed pants appear strange to the modern audience. His slowness, such as when deciphering the meaning of M.O.A.I., make him seem a dunce. Unlike Nunn’s pathetic Malvolio and schemers hidden in the bushes, Rylance’s characters encourage the audience to laugh with them and ignore most of the darkness in Maria’s