photos from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It mostly by Lee Illfield (and a few by Dan Lyons)

 

In it’s 5th year, Dungog Shakespearience will be presenting Twelfth Night

October 29th - 31st 2026



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2026 Season - Twelfth Night

Back for the fifth year running, Shakespearience Australia and Dungog Shakespearience are excited to bring one of the most humerus and outrageous of Shakespeares works - Twelfth Night- to the enchanting forest stages of Wangat Lodge! After the sell out success of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2022, As You Like It in 2023, Romeo & Juliet in 2024 and Hamlet in 2025, director Timothy Weston has turned his imagination to Shakespeare’s hilarious gender bending romantic comedy, Twelfth Night. AS ALWAYS, it will be an unmissable experience!

The Plot: Think of Twelfth Night as the world’s first and most chaotic episode of Love Island, but with more ruffs and significantly more shipwreck-induced identity theft!
It starts with the Ultimate Sibling Ghosting: Viola and her twin brother Sebastian get wrecked in a storm. Viola hits the beach, assumes her brother is fish food, and decides the best career move is to glue on a fake moustache, call herself Cesario, and work for the local Duke.
This leads to a complex love triangle: the local ruler, Duke Orsino is "madly in love" with Countess Olivia, which mostly involves him moping around his palace listening to the 1600s equivalent of Emo music. He sends "Cesario" (disguised Viola) to do his flirting for him, because why do your own chores? Olivia falls for the cross dressed Viola (Cesario); and Viola secretly falls for Orsino. Eventually the twin turns up, and chaos ensues.

Why It’s Still Relevant?
It’s basically the blueprint for every rom-com where a girl puts on glasses and suddenly nobody recognizes her. It proves that humans have been confusing "intense eye contact" with "soulmate status" since 1601. The play is celebrated for its exploration of gender identity, sexuality, mental health and social order. This piece shows that “traditional” boundaries of gender and sexual attraction, may have been looked at since earlier than the 20th century. Some analyze it through the lens of viewing gender as a "performance". Orsino’s deep bond with Cesario before the reveal and Olivia’s attraction to a woman in disguise resonate with modern discussions on LGBTQ+ themes and same-sex attraction. Characters like Olivia and Orsino are initially defined by their extreme melancholy and mourning, which modern productions often use to explore the psychological impacts of loss and isolation

Director Timothy Weston: With over ten years experience of outdoor Shakespeare including with the world renowned Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, and Sydney's long running and much lauded Shakespeare By The Sea. Tim has appeared in over thirty Shakespearean productions in his career playing everyone from Malvolio to Mark Antony, Caliban to Horatio. He studied at the University of Sydney and Sydney Theatre School, making his directorial debut in the successful tour of Chekhov's Guns in 2011. In 2022 he took the helm of Dungog Shakespearience to bring professional level Shakespeare to nature based stages, enlivening the productions and making them more accessible to a wider audience. His recent acting credits include four weeks as the eponymous King in King Richard II, Don Jon in Much Ado About Nothing, Aeneas in Dido; Queen of Carthage, David Copperfield in Copperfield! The Musical at the Gatehouse Theatre in London, and of course the annual Dungog Shakespearience!

Dungog Shakespearience performances are an immersive experience set amongst the trees of 3 forest stages at Wangat Lodge. Join us for 2026! We have 5 shows, including morning matinees and evening shows.

Wangat Lodge comes alive with a festival-like atmosphere during the Dungog Shakespearience. There will be a foyer bar, with beers and wine and soft drinks, as well as bar snacks and ice creams. Stay on for post show dining, to make an extra special night out.

Book accommodation to stay the night at the beautiful Wangat Lodge. Wake up with the birds in the forest, and even have a early morning swim in the beautiful river!

Show/ dinner/ accommodation packages available! Check it out!


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