I, Malvolio

Among the fantastical plotlines of shipwrecked twins, mistaken identity and speedy blossoming of instantaneous attraction in Twelfth Night, one poor maligned soul does not share in the joyous conclusion. In fact, he'll be revenged on the whole pack of you. Yes, you.

I, Malvolio retells Twelfth Night from the perspective of Lady Olivia's pompous steward. After being tricked into believing she loves him by her wretched uncle, Malvolio exhibits behaviour odd enough to have him deemed mentally ill and thrown in a dungeon.

We find him there in tattered long johns, horns, a turkey wattle and a sign reading 'turkey cock'. This upright man of order has been made a fool of for our entertainment and as we titter with our “bellies full of pop and pickled herring” Malvolio asks, “Is this what you find funny?” Yes it is, but no more so when his off-the-cuff sledging of us takes full flight. We are theatregoing heathens complicit in his downfall, and we'll pay. 

Tim Crouch's performance is stellar, simultaneously urging us to mock this fool and belittling us for indulging in schadenfreude. If there's a flat spot towards the end, perhaps it's due to a too-savvy audience, looking to avoid his revenge. As many laughs as there are, the last one doesn't belong to us.