Bristol Old Vic
Twelfth Night is relocated to the Cotton Club in this sparkling musical, which luxuriates in its musicality and movement

Given the important function of music in Twelfth Night, it seems fitting for Sheldon Epps’ 1996 musical riff to make a virtue of it by infusing Shakespeare’s comedy of unrequited love and disguise with the sounds of Duke Ellington’s jazz and swing.

The title itself, after all, refers to the often-quoted words by the lovesick Duke Orsino: “If music be the food of love, play on”. Ironically, they are never spoken in this musical, set in 1940s Harlem, inside the Cotton Club.