With no end to yet another unbearably damp and muggy stretch of July, the last thing anyone wants to do is pry themselves away from the simple pleasures of even the most rudimentary of chilling systems; but even after leaving the pleasures of ice cold showers or the cool comforts of air conditioning, Canopy Theatre Company’s outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at the Philosopher’s Walk is still a breath of fresh air in an otherwise sticky icky situation of a city.

Upon arrival at the Philosopher’s Stage, the air hangs with the threat and ruin of rain. The line trickles forward and upward toward the performance area, where the crowd is welcomed by the scratchy and sultry sounds of 1920’s records and the casual intimacy of a large picnic with conveniently rentable lawn chairs and blankets galore for your complete teatro al fresco experience. It becomes immediately apparent that this is not your typical Shakespeare production—the alley separating the two stages is centred and flanked on both sides by curious spectators. The audience is abruptly hushed as a barbershop quartet smoothly serenades an introduction to the first half.

Waistcoats, top hats, flapper dresses, oh my! The vitality and enthusiasm of a younger cast coupled with the throwback vintage feel of the roaring twenties setting was an exciting and compelling approach to Shakespearean comedy. Feste the Fool (Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski) instantly captivates from the tone of his mischievous voice right down to the bright pink hue of his ruffled panties. However after the charms of novelty wear off, I find my gaze beginning to wander and the first hour to be otherwise languorous and slow even with the cast darting and dashing this way and that up and down the conduit. And just as I was giving up hope, it was soon restored by the subtly nuanced double entendres enhanced by the physical slapstick of gender bending sexual humour and vice versa and Malvolio (Neil Silcox), who arrives in the nick of time clad in cross-gartered yellow stockings, the proverbial cape for all intents and purposes, and whose passionate performance saved the day.

After a brief intermission, darkness descends and so—to the relief of all—does the humidex. Thus, with Mother Nature settling complacently with the rest of the night’s planned event, so too does the entire cast confident and rejuvenated by the energy of the crowd, they into their respective roles. Sir Toby Belch’s (Tyrone Savage) drunken antics at the expense of Sir Andrew Aguecheek’s (Paolo Santalucia) skittish witlessness and dreadfully ill-fitting knickerbockers provides endless laughs until a riot full of Hutton’s signature fight sequences, painfully comical qui pro quos and the odd purple nurple left us all in quite the giddy tizzy. Yet, hilarious bemusement and “midsummer madness” aside, the conclusion of the play quietly responds to the evening’s mirth with sincere and heartfelt moments of love and loss. The Duke Orsino’s profound statement, “one face, one voice, one habit and two persons,” unifies both the play in its entirety and the actors and audience into the peace of shared catharsis.

The two hour’s traffic of this stage combines a masterful and modern use and manipulation of space feigning distance and the passage of time with a thoroughly enjoyable interpretation of classic and timeless Shakespearean comedy. After ten seasons of outdoor theatre, Canopy Theatre has discovered a tried and true method of beating the heat and humidity with laughter.

Twelfth Night runs Tues-Sat this week, with doors at 7:30 p.m. You can buy advance tickets here.