One of the biggest hurdles to any performance of Shakespeare is that whatever way you choose to approach it, it has probably been done before.

Tackling this, the Royal Shakespeare Company is taking amateur theatre seriously, with over 260 amateur companies and 6400 participants taking part in their Open Stages project. They are supporting societies all over the UK as they produce various versions of Shakespeare’s plays. In this spirit, EUTC have decided to stage a version of Twelfth Night that focuses not on the traditional comedy of the script, but on the heartbreak of the story instead.

Essentially, “it’s an emo show in the way that emo is good”, explains producer Rosie Curtis. The play starts with twins Viola and Sebastian who are ripped apart at birth, “and in our play, we make them feel that a bit more” says director Paul Hughes. “It’s about taking things to heart that bit more and making things that bit more vicious”.

With a number of references to those painful experiences of liking someone who doesn’t feel the same way, it is clear why the company have chosen this play to present to a student audience. Faith Jones adds that this is especially the case when, “as an audience, you know that they all can’t get what they want as they all totally clash with each other, but that just makes it real”.

It’s also easy to see how this production could be stepping on a few toes. Staging a Shakespeare production could clash with the theatre offered by the Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company, but I’m assured that “they’re super awesome” about it and, as Lillis Meeh points out, “it would be absurd of them to be like no, you’re not doing Shakespeare, it’s ours”.

This relaxation of the sharp distinctions between all of the University’s theatre societies is a welcome development for those who want to participate in more than one type of drama. Paul describes how “before, the student theatres were a bit more distant and didn’t mix but now it’s more unusual for anyone to just be involved in one." Faith agrees, saying that “it’s really good at the moment that you don’t have to identify yourself with one clique, you do have all these opportunities”.

However, not everyone is so thrilled about the recent crossover between the societies. This is because it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish a society as providing a specific type of theatre if other theatre companies are performing similar shows. Yet there is a sense of genuine relief that actors can join as many theatre companies as they like, and not feel restricted to one genre.

Leaving the politics aside, it is quite exciting to think that this production could end up onstage in Stratford-upon-Avon in the World Shakespeare Festival 2012. As part of the RSC’s Open Stages, “the best of amateur theatre” will have the opportunity to perform alongside the professionals. With elaborate costumes, a giant turntable of a stage and a human interpretation of the text, it will be interesting to see how far they go.

Twelfth Night will be running at Bedlam Theatre 25-29 October

First published 18/10/11