Setting

Click on the images below to find out more about the setting of Twelfth Night and what we know about where the play is set.

Illyria is by the sea and has a coastline.
There are two main households in the play: Orsino's and Olivia's. Their homes are quite different from each other and both have servants.
Orsino, the ruler of Illyria, has time to listen to music and think about love.
Olivia is in mourning for the loss of her father and brother which has an impact on her household.
Viola chooses to dress as a young man in order to get work, suggesting this wouldn't be easy for a woman in Illyria or that it would give her more freedom.
Olivia’s house has gardens in which many characters spend time.

Every performance of Twelfth Night will be set in a place that has all of the things above but they can do that in lots of different ways. For example, the play could be set in any land that is 'foreign' to Viola and Sebastian where there is a ruling class who have servants, such as colonial America or Victorian England.

Why do you think it might be helpful for modern audiences to change the world of a play? What worlds can you think of where Twelfth Night might be set?

Teacher Notes

On this page students can explore some of the key things that we know about the setting of Twelfth Night by clicking on the pictures.

You can use these pictures, or other images, as a starting point to discuss what they know about the setting of the play and to think about where they would set the play if they were creating their own production. A great way of doing this visually is for students to create a mood board or collage of images that could be used as design inspiration.

The activity in the Teacher Notes on the Productions page develops on this and asks students to think about the messages or ‘ruling ideas’ they would want to put across in a production.