I must admit, with proper shame, that I have made it this far into my life without having read or seen Twelfth Night. That makes me living proof that you can enjoy the socks off of this play (basically Sir Andrew's origin story) without knowing anything about the story that inspired it. Plus now I will have the added joy of holding all of Toby Malone's delicious backstory in my head whenever I DO finally get around to Twelfth Night. There's adventure, there's intrigue, there's tragedy, there's dueling... Shakespeare couldn't have done better himself!

An exciting and tremendous romance, that builds off of Shakespeare's character while existing as a worthy adventure in its own right. Malone crafts a period play that weaves politics, pirates, passion, and plots upon pernicious plots. All the while, this story addresses and twists the idea of what makes someone a fool, or indeed, a knight.

Twelfth Night inspired plays are almost always an instant recommendation in my book, but an epic prequel play about Sir Andrew’s adventures before the Bard’s story? I adored every second; it’s a play I’d love to see in rep with the original Shakespeare. (Or even better: as part of a whole season of plays like this exploring Twelfth Night! That could be lovely.)