I recently was given the privilege of attending a theatre show of a different kind, a modern day take on William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ produced by GJ Productions (co – founded by Grace Maddern & Jack Wilkinson) a new Melbourne based warm and friendly production company supporting up & coming artists while also providing them with the opportunity to share their talents with the community and theatre lovers alike.

Despite a few organisational issues which led to a delayed start, in true preview style the  rest of Twelfth Night went off without a hitch.

Held at the beautiful Fairfield Amphitheatre on a warm summer’s night, GJ Production’s Twelfth Night had the recipe you need for a great night out. Whatever your taste is I am sure you won’t be disappointed whether it be the light hearted comedy approach (great for laughs) the incredible unique masks by Masks and Puppets Plus which made the era that bit more realistic or just the amazing talent from the cast which for me personally is always so refreshing seeing new, exciting, promising and arising talent of which co – founders Grace and Jack clearly have an eye for….

The eleven cast members where second to none

Each performer was eager to please, giving it their all and bringing a piece of themselves to the stage, some even taking on two roles.  It’s fair to say this cast of many talents are a joy to behold but it was the likes of Madeline Pratt as the Mischievous Maria and Jacob Mills as the vain Sir Andrew Aguecheek that stole the show. Both being their first performance outside of university I was dumbfounded at their talent firstly but also how effortlessly they threw themselves into their character taking you on a journey and making them believable all the while delighting you with much humour and engaging the audience where needed.

Having said all of that though everyone did such a great job and should be commended. I have no doubt Melbourne will be seeing more of them in the future. And to GJ Productions I look forward to supporting/ seeing where you guys go next! the stars are the limit.

Twelfth Night is playing at the Fairfield Amphitheatre until the 28th of January get your tickets at trybooking.com and search GJ Productions.

x Steph

Photos by Matthew Howat