London, January 5, 1941. The twelfth night of Christmas. Last night, a bomb dropped on the Swan Hill theater, reducing the building to rubble. But the Chiswick House Players are determined that their show must go on, and the local pub seemed as good a place as any.
The parallels between Twelfth Night and wartime London are striking: both are worlds marked by displacement and the search for joy in the midst of destruction. Viola washes ashore in a strange land; these actors find themselves shipwrecked in their own city. Each character, and each performer, reaches for love, laughter, and music as a way to survive the dark.
Wartime in London in the 1940s turned society on its head. The activities and behaviors of the classes during the blitzkrieg especially shifted the perception of the working and lower classes. During air raids, the lower classes who would shelter together formed communities to look after each other, leading the government to express concern that it would lead to a rise in communist organizing. Indeed, the war put pressure on Britain?s traditionally rigid class structures, with women entering the workforce to perform ostensibly masculine roles, rationing affecting the well-off and the working class in (near) equal measure, the upper and lower classes fighting side-by-side against the Nazis and the constant precipitation of lethal bombing raids paying no heed to class or breeding. The traditions of twelfth night find happy communion in this relentless and togethering turbulence, where roles are reversed and celebrations continue through even the most dire of circumstances.
Audience members are invited into this world not as distant observers, but as guests of the pub itself. The ?preshow? is a moment to share food and drink and enjoy the live music while the actors are getting the space prepared.
Once the makeshift stage is set up, the actors pass out the twelfth night cake. In keeping with centuries-old tradition, whoever finds the hidden bean in their slice is crowned ?king? or ?queen? for the night. The performance that follows unfolds with that same spirit of spontaneity and joy: a loving ritual to banish the cold and remind us of our shared humanity.
At its heart, this production asks: What does it mean to choose joy when the world is burning? For the actors, and for us perhaps the answer lies in gathering together, telling stories, and choosing to believe that love and laughter still matter.
