THE Olympia Players return to Market Chambers in Basingstoke for the third time this year, following the success of previous shows Pride and Prejudice and You, Me and the Worst Dinner Party.

This time the theatre group has decided to tackle Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

“Shakespeare is wonderful to work with, it is a rich tapestry of language, characters and themes laced throughout is a marvellous humour,” said the Olympia Players artistic director Arundel Thomas.

One of those challenges was casting, Thomas tells how he has brought together a diverse mix of professional actors some with several decades of experience others fresh from their training.

Fronting this diverse cast is Abigail Douetil as Malvolio, a role typically played by men.

Gender switching is not new to Shakespeare, indeed the leading lady in Twelfth Night Viola pretends to be the man Cessario for a great deal of the play.

Thomas added: “Back in the day men played all the roles therefore why can’t ladies play these roles today?”

Twelfth Night opens on August 9 and runs to August 12, starting at 7:30pm in Market Chambers, in the Top of The Town. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for concessions. To book a ticket email theolympiaplayers@yahoo.co.uk.