Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Education resource
This education resource is designed to work in
conjunction with the accompanying PowerPoint,
available to download from www.filmclub.org/resources
Renaissance © (1996) All rights reserved.
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Our resources are designed to be used with selected film titles, which are available free for clubs at www.filmclub.org
Teachers’ notes
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night - Trevor Nunn
1996 | UK | 128 mins | Cert: U
Curriculum focus
Twelfth Night © Property of Renaissance (1996). All rights reserved.
These film-focused activities are designed for use in English literature,
drama and related subjects at ages 11-18. The resource is particularly
suitable for supporting the study of Twelfth Night at KS3, GCSE and
equivalent, and GCSE Assessment Objectives such as ‘respond to texts
critically and imaginatively’; ‘make comparisons and explain links between
texts’; ‘relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts’.
The activities can also be used to support study at advanced level.
What the critics say
“Trevor Nunn’s new film version of Twelfth Night, a lighthearted comedy of romance and gender confusion, creates a
romantic triangle out of the same sorts of mistaken sexual identities that inspired Some Like It Hot. And Nunn directs it in
something of the same spirit; the film winks at us while the characters fall in love.”
Roger Ebert
www.rogerebert.com/reviews/twelfth-night-1996
About Reel to Real
This unique teaching resource is part of the Reel to Real programme, a partnership between Into Film and the
Victoria and Albert Museum’s Learning Department. Reel to Real harnesses the immersive, visual nature of film, as well as
the wealth of the V&A’s world-renowned collections of art, design and performance, to give students new and exciting
insights into key English curriculum texts at ages 11-18. For more about this programme and other quality teaching
resources in this series, see www.filmclub.org/resources/#id/48.
Why use film to support literature?
This resource helps bring the text to life for students, allowing them to explore character, theme and context using clips
and still images from the film and contextual details from the V&A’s collections to enrich the learning experience. Before
starting these activities, we recommend that students have a solid understanding of the play. By using this resource, you
will develop and extend their understanding through analysis, creative writing and filmmaking activities.
These flexible materials can be used in their entirety or in part, and can be adapted to suit your students’ needs. The
activity outlines and supporting worksheets for students are designed to be used in conjunction with the accompanying
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night PowerPoint presentation, which features clips and images and is downloadable at
www.filmclub.org/resources/#id/48. We recommend viewing the feature film adaptation in full once you’ve completed
the activities.
For advice on filmmaking and on film language, see this helpful guide (in particular pages 8-11, which you may want
to share with your students): bit.ly/SecondaryFilmmaking. Links to other websites are included in this resource for their
educational relevance; we recommend you check these links before sharing with students, as we are not responsible for
the content, which may change, move or become unavailable without our knowledge.
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Teachers’ notes
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
What you will need
Clips are included in the resource, but you may also find a DVD copy of the 1996 film version helpful in the classroom.
You will also need an internet connection and IWB or similar. Students will need copies of the play and printed copies of
the worksheets. Note that the Comedy conventions cards on page 10 are designed to be cut up into individual cards,
ready for sorting.
Accessing film
You can order the 1996 film Twelfth Night for free through your Into Film Club account. For more information see
bit.ly/IFTwelfthNight.
Joining Into Film and starting a film club will give you and your school access to thousands of fantastic films to watch,
along with great supporting resources and opportunities for members to develop skills in reporting, programming and
reviewing. Clubs are also offered support in filmmaking, putting youth voice at the very heart of the scheme. Through
participating in a film club, children and young people can engage directly with members of the film industry, discover
career opportunities and learn how to pursue them.
Not yet Into Film? Joining is easy and free – go to the website to find out more and register:
www.intofilm.org/schools-film-clubs or email [email protected].
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Introductory activities
Summary: This section builds on students’ existing knowledge
of Twelfth Night through an exploration of V&A collection items
relating to the play’s costume designs and Shakespeare’s approach
to the comedy genre.
1. Twelfth Night or What You Will
•
Display the title and subtitle on slide 2 of the Reel to Real: Twelfth Night PowerPoint presentation and ask
students, in pairs, to discuss how they think it relates to the play. Inform students that this was the only Shakespeare
play to have a subtitle.
•
Take feedback and then click to reveal the historical context of Twelfth Night on slide 3 of the Reel to Real: Twelfth
Night PowerPoint presentation to compare with students’ ideas.
•
Now that students have this information, can they better relate it to the play? Think-pair-share again, collecting
ideas. Elicit the opposing ideas of social chaos and social order from the context and the themes of the play.
Challenge students to find textual evidence of both in the play.
•
Ask the class if they think the play is more about creating chaos or restoring order. How and why do they think this?
Extension: Show students the poster for the 1996 film version, and the poster for the film She’s The Man, released in
2006, which is a loose adaptation of Twelfth Night. Both are available at www.imdb.com/. As a class, identify how each
poster connotes characters, themes, settings and plots. Challenge students to come up with their own title or subtitle
for the play. They could also design the poster for their title and present it back to the class, linking their choices to their
own, unique understanding of the text.
2. A cross-dressing comedy
•
Ask students to list the conventions of a modern-day comedy – whether on film, television or stage. They may
wish to focus on a sub-genre, such as a rom-com, sitcom or spoof, to help generate ideas. They should aim to
come up with a list of nine typical elements in pairs or small groups, covering character, plot, themes, action and so
on. Share these as a class.
•
Show students the trailer for comedy film She’s the Man, a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night. You can find the trailer online at bit.ly/ShestheManIMDb. Does the trailer include all the elements the
students identified?
•
Explain that Shakespearean comedies were not just about the laughs - they had other conventions of plot,
character and language. Click to show students the list of conventions, one by one, on slide 4 of the Reel to Real
Twelfth Night PowerPoint presentation. Are there many differences or similarities with modern-day comedies?
Can students support their responses with examples of comedy films?
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
•
Give each student a set of the Comedy conventions cards (on page 10) and ask them, individually, to rank these
comedy conventions using a diamond nine formation to show which convention they think is most important to
the play. Students should be prepared to feed back and justify their ideas. Are there other conventions they think
should be included?
•
Allocate each pair (or group) a different comedy convention from the list in the presentation, including:
1. Disguise
2. Trickery
3. Wordplay
4. A love interest (or several)
5. A servant who saves the day
6. A character who is exposed
7. A comic character (eg a fool)
8. Characters separated then reunited
9. A happy ending (often marriage)
They must find textual evidence of this convention in the play. Feed back ideas and quotations as a class and
collect on the whiteboard. Encourage students to revisit their diamond nine to reflect on how the evidence has
extended their understanding.
•
Show students the trailer for the 1996 Twelfth Night (available at bit.ly/TwelfthNightIMDb) as a contrast to
She’s The Man.
•
Then show students the trailer for She’s the Man, again. Did the trailers include all the conventions on the cards?
Students should explain the similarities and differences they have identified.
•
Now ask students to imagine they are watching the play in Elizabethan times. On the stage all the characters
are male. How does this affect their diamond nine? How important is gender identity and disguise to this play, in
this context?
Extension: Ask students to identify each plot point where Viola’s gender switch causes conflict or drives the narrative
forward. List these on the board. Allocate pairs of students a key moment each and give them a Character crossroads
sheet on page 11. Ask them to consider how the play would change if Viola had revealed her true identity at that point in
the story. Did Shakespeare, in fact, reveal her identity at just the right time? Why?
3.
Costumes and disguise
•
Give each student a print out of the costume designs from the V&A collection on slides 5 to 12 of the Reel to Real:
Twelfth Night Powerpoint presentation. Share characters out amongst the class for variety.
•
Instruct each student to annotate their character with words and quotations from the play that reveal key
information about their character (eg personality, actions and status).
•
Challenge them to take those key characteristics and design a modern-day costume for their character that reflects
their personality, actions and status in the play. (Use the Costume design worksheet on page 12.)
•
This can be compiled as a booklet or wall display and used as a class revision tool to help students develop and
retain their knowledge of major and minor characters.
Extension: Pair students up, at random, and challenge them to script a “deleted scene” – an interaction between their
two allocated characters that matches their characters’ modern-day attire and fashion style. Students use the play text
and Example film script (on page 13) to help them. These scenes could be performed in front of the class or filmed, with
a director’s commentary explaining the dialogue and action.
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Clip-focused activities
Summary: This section revisits students’ knowledge of character
and events, and explores how language is used to create drama
and conflict, using key moments in the film adaptation as the basis
for a range of classroom activities.
1.
Playing along with Shakespeare
•
Remind students of the opening of the play. Ask them to work in small groups to plan how they would stage Viola’s
(unseen) arrival in Illyria, as an extra-textual scene. Discuss and perform ideas. What would be the difficulties of
staging this? How did Shakespeare avoid these difficulties?
•
Show students the NVAP clip of the Filter company’s 2008 stage production on slide 13 of the Reel to Real Twelfth
Night PowerPoint presentation. How did the production team convey Viola’s situation in imaginative ways? Is this
an effective way to stage the opening? Why?
•
Now ask students to look at opening the play with Viola and Sebastian’s shipwreck, only this time ask them to
imagine they are filmmakers with a big budget. Working in the same groups they must plan their film opening.
Discuss and perform ideas.
•
Discuss the differences between staging the play for the stage and the screen.
•
Now play students the opening of the 1996 film on slide 14 of the Reel to Real Twelfth Night PowerPoint
presentation (DVD timecode 00:00:31 - 00:04:20). How did the production team bring the opening to life for a
cinema audience? Was it effective? Why?
Extension: Ask students if they recognise the dialogue (voice over) that was used in the beginning of the 1996 film
adaptation. This was actually written by the film director Trevor Nunn. Do students agree with changing the text of
a Shakespeare play for film adaptations? Why? Students use the internet to explore reviews of the Trevor Nunn film
adaptation and Filter stage production. How were these productions - and their unconventional approaches - reviewed
by critics? What can they discover about changes from the text in each adaptation? Do they think adaptations that make
big changes to the play can have benefits for students and audiences alike?
2. The power of words
•
Show students two scenes relating to language:
o Cesario using language and verse to woo Olivia on behalf of Orsino on slide 15 of the Reel to Real Twelfth
Night PowerPoint presentation (DVD timecode 00:31:00 - 34:18)
o Malvolio reading the love letter he believes is from Olivia on slide 16 (DVD timecode 00:58:45 - 01:02:20).
•
Discuss what these two scenes tell us about the power of language in the play. Is Shakespeare presenting language
as having a positive or negative effect on the characters?
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
•
Challenge students to find evidence in the play of where language (written or spoken) has positive and negative
effects. As a class, sort these into lists that show the positive and negative effects of language. Try performing
these scenes with different emotions and body language to see how communication can be altered through
performance.
•
Using their collected evidence, students produce an evaluation (verbal or written) of the importance of language
as a means of communication, persuasion and compliance. This would be a good opportunity to help students
practise and peer assess their close reading analysis skills by writing PEEE paragraphs around selected quotations.
Extension: Students pick the scene that most clearly demonstrates the power of language. They storyboard (using the
Storyboard template on page 15) and film this scene, adding subtitles that translate the Shakespearean dialogue into
modern-day language.
3. Feste, foolery and folly
•
Twelfth Night pokes fun at excess. Characters who go to extremes – whether in their mourning, their eating, drinking and
revelry or even in their declarations of love – are shown the error of their self-indulgent ways. Ask students, from memory,
to list all the instances of characters being foolish through their over-indulgence.
•
Show students the clip of Feste convincing Olivia she is foolish for mourning her brother’s death on slide 17 of the Reel to
Real Twelfth Night PowerPoint presentation (DVD timecode 00:21:00 - 00:23:20). What point is Feste making here? What
is his job in the play?
•
Feste embodies the spirit of the traditional Twelfth Night festivities (having a good time in the face of the establishment).
He is also a genius with words and has a knack for punning, word play, and witty repartee, causing Cesario to comment:
This fellow is wise enough to play the fool;
And to do that well craves a kind of wit
Ask students to revisit the text and collect quotations from, and about, the licensed fool Feste. Ask them to analyse the text
to decide whether he is truly a fool or, in fact, the wisest in the play, by sorting the quotes into two lists and making their
decision based on evidence.
•
Who do students think is, in fact, the biggest fool in the play? Why?
•
You could introduce students to the concept of irony using Feste (the wise man as a fool) as an example. Use this as a
springboard for compiling a glossary of literary terms and finding supporting evidence from the play. This can be referred
back to when writing and revising the play for exam purposes.
Extension: Who is Feste? Ask students to work in pairs to write a back-story for Feste. How did he end up in Illyria? Has he
always been a fool? Students can use the Film pitch sheet (on page 14) to plan and present a prequel to the play around this
intriguing character.
4. Poor Malvolio!
•
Ask students to create a mind map, from memory and the play text, of all the characteristics and qualities Malvolio
displays that make him unlikable to other characters in the play (ie the antagonist). More able students can find
supporting quotations from the text.
•
Play students the clip of Malvolio fantasising about marrying Olivia on slide 18 of the Reel to Real Twelfth Night
PowerPoint presentation (DVD timecode 00:56:46 - 00:58:42). Discuss the reasons behind his attraction to Olivia
– does he desire her, or the social status she would bring to him? Students add to their mind map.
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
•
Remind students about the prank played on Malvolio by reading key parts of the text relating to this subplot. If
students cannot identify these scenes themselves, you could direct them to extracts from: Act 1 Scene 5; Act 2
Scene 3; Act 2 Scene 5; Act 3 Scene 2; Act 3 Scene 4; Act 4 Scene 2; Act 5 Scene 1.
•
Ask students to vote on whether they think Malvolio deserved to be made a fool of by arranging themselves around
the room in a human continuum. Question students about their decisions.
•
Now play students the scene from the film where Malvolio emerges, dirty and disgraced, at the party and realises he
has been fooled. (Go to slide 19 of the Reel to Real Twelfth Night PowerPoint presentation or see DVD timecode
01:58:53 - 02:02:34.) After watching, ask students to reconsider whether they feel sympathy towards Malvolio and
whether he deserved the prank played on him. Will they rearrange themselves in light of this? Why?
•
Inform students that Shakespearean audiences would likely have enjoyed this story, and the downfall of Malvolio,
because of common prejudices towards puritans at that time, and because of the importance of class and status
in society.
•
Divide students into two groups:
o Group 1 must embody an Elizabethan audience that will argue that Malvolio got exactly what was coming
to him.
o Group 2 must embody a modern-day audience that will argue that the prank on Malvolio was immoral and went too far.
•
Conduct a class debate, in role, exploring the question “Did Malvolio get his just deserts?”
Extension: Explore the perspectives and motivations of the characters involved in this subplot through a hot-seating
activity in the format of a TV discussion show. You could even put Shakespeare in the hot seat to explore his intentions
with this subplot. Nominate students to play key characters and prepare their arguments. Ensure the rest of the students
(the audience) come up with questions to ask each character involved. This could be filmed.
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Activity outlines
Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Further activities
Summary: These activities challenge critical and creative thinking
skills whilst revising students’ knowledge of the play, offering a mix
of writing and performance exercises with options to record audio
and video responses.
1.
Restoring order
•
Play students the clip from the end of the 1996 film adaptation on slide 20 of the Reel to Real Twelfth Night
PowerPoint presentation (DVD timecode 02:02:35 - 02:05:40). What are the main differences from the end of the
play text?
•
Why do students think the director Trevor Nunn decided to transform Viola back into a woman but Shakespeare
decided to keep her as Cesario? Which is more in keeping with the spirit of the play? Why?
•
Inform students that Viola is the only Shakespearean heroine who doesn’t change out of her male disguise on
stage. Why is this significant? What does it tell you about the spirit of the play and Shakespeare’s attitudes towards
status and convention?
•
Students analyse the following quote, shown on slide 21 of the Reel to Real Twelfth Night PowerPoint
presentation:
Meantime, sweet sister [Olivia]
We will not part from hence.
Cesario, come;
For so you shall be, while you are a man;
But when in other habits you are seen,
Orsino’s mistress and his fancy’s queen.
What does this tell us about Orsino’s attraction to Cesario? Is there other evidence of Orsino being attracted to
Cesario’s androgyny? This could be written as a PEEE paragraph, a short analytical essay or filmed as an ‘expert
analysis’ DVD extra.
2.
As You Would Today…
•
Remind students of the trailer for She’s the Man (on IMDb bit.ly/ShestheManIMDb).
•
Using the Film pitch worksheet (see page 14), students work in small groups to come up with a modern-day film
concept that uses the comedy genre, key themes and plot points of Twelfth Night.
•
They must pitch their film concept to the class and decide on the best adaptation idea.
Extension: Students use the Storyboard template (page 15) and Example film script (page 13) to plan and film either a
key scene or a trailer for their adaptation idea.
And finally…
The legendary Great Bed of Ware, mentioned by Sir Toby Belch in Act 3 Scene 2 of Twelfth Night, is on display at the
V&A – you can find images and a short video here: www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-great-bed-of-ware/.
Go to ‘Search the Collections’ to find out more about the V&A’s collections online: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/.
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Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Comedy conventions
cards
Most important
Which of these comedy
conventions do you
think is most important
to the play?
Rank the cards
below according to
their importance.
Least important
Disguise
Trickery
Wordplay
A love interest (or
several)
A servant who
saves the day
A character
who is exposed
A comic character
(eg a fool)
Characters
separated then
reunited
A happy ending
(often marriage)
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Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Character crossroads worksheet
Key ‘crossroads’ moment in the film
Explore how Viola’s gender switch causes conflict in the play, or drives the plot forward, by looking at key moments.
The decision... What does Viola decide? Did she follow social norms or her own
The alternative... What other decision could Viola have made at this point?
personal values?
Effect on the story - at the time What happens? How does the choice affect Viola
Effect on the story - at the time What difference might this change make? Think
and others?
about how this alternative choice could change things for Viola and others.
Effect on the story - later on What happens? How does the choice affect Viola
Effect on the story - later on What things might change later in the story?
and others?
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Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Character costume design worksheet
List the five most important character traits for each character in the boxes below. Then, use these characteristics to
help you design a modern-day costume for that character in the space provided.
Character traits:
Character traits:
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
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Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Example script
SCENE 1. INTERIOR. CLASSROOM. DAY
MR GRANGER
(middle-aged and balding, enters and approaches the whiteboard.
He writes the words ‘Take on the Long Take’ on the whiteboard.
He turns to face the class of 30 Year 6 pupils).
Good morning class. I have some exciting news.
We are going to take part in Into Film’s Take
on the Long Take challenge.
OSCAR
What’s a long take, sir?
MR GRANGER
Good question Oscar. When making
a film, a long take is a continuous film
shot without any cuts.
(Oscar considers this response briefly before raising his hand again
to ask another question).
OSCAR
When we made the zombie film, we had to use
editing software. Will we use this again?
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Reel to Real: An Inspector Calls
Film pitch worksheet
Your pitch should be a maximum of three minutes long. Use this template to guide you:
Production company name:
Title:
Tagline:
Synopsis/plot outline:
Cast/interview list:
Themes/issues:
Filming locations:
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Reel to Real: Twelfth Night
Storyboard
For a helpful guide to storyboarding see: bit.ly/HowToStoryboard
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
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