What is "twelfth night"

Twelfth Night is a play by William Shakespeare.

Twelfth Night may also refer to:

• Twelfth Night (holiday) or Epiphany Eve
• Twelfth Night (1933 film), a short Technicolor film made in 1933
• Twelfth Night (1955 film) aka Dvenadtsataya noch, Russian language film
• Twelfth Night (1980 film), directed by John Gorrie
• Twelfth Night (1986 film), a 1986 Australian film
• Twelfth Night (1988 TV drama), a 1988 television adaptation of Kenneth Branagh's stage production
• Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996 film), directed by Trevor Nunn
• Twelfth Night, or What You Will, a 1998 TV film directed by Nicholas Hytner
• Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australian
• Twelfth Night (band), an English neo-progressive rock band
• Twelfth Night (album) by Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton

Twelfth Night were an English neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s, reformed between 2007 and 2012 and again in 2014. The BBC has described them as Reading's biggest band of the 1980s.

Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night on either 5 January or 6 January; the Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, celebrates Twelfth Night on the 5th and "refers to the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story tells us that the wise men visited the infant Jesus". In Western Church traditions the Twelfth Night concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas, although in others the Twelfth Night can precede the Twelfth Day. Bruce Forbes wrote that " "In 56789 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days. If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then Twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself."

A belief has arisen in modern times, in some English-speaking countries, that it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, a tradition originally attached to the festival of Candlemas (2 February) which celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (who is disguised as a boy) falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with the Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man. The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from the short story "Of Apollonius and Silla" by Barnabe Rich, based on a story by Matteo Bandello. The first recorded performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar. The play was not published until its inclusion in the 1623 First Folio.

Twelfth Night (also known as Twelfth Night: Or What You Will) is a 1996 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring an all-star cast. Set in the late 19th century, it was filmed on location in Cornwall, including scenes shot at Padstow and at Lanhydrock House near Bodmin, with Orsino and his followers wearing uniforms that evoke the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Twelfth Night (, transliteration Dvenadtsataya noch) is a 1955 Soviet comedy film by Lenfilm based on Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Script by Yan Frid. United States release date: March 3, 1956.

Twelfth Night is a 1986 Australian film based on the play directed by Neil Armfield.

Twelfth Night is a 1933 American Pre-Code short color film, notable as the very earliest surviving film directed by Orson Welles, then aged 17. It is a recording of the dress rehearsal of Welles's own abridged production at his alma mater, the Todd School for Boys, where he had returned to direct this adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for the Chicago Drama Festival in 1933. The play won first prize at that year's festival, presented as part of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, A Century of Progress Exposition.

Twelfth Night is a 1966 Australian TV version of the play by William Shakespeare. It starred Roger Climpson and Helen Morse and was directed by Ken Hannam.

Twelfth Night, or, What You Will is a videotaped 1988 television adaptation of Kenneth Branagh's stage production for the Renaissance Theatre Company of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night first broadcast in the UK by ITV on 30 December 1988. Made by Thames Television, in collaboration with Renaissance, it stars Frances Barber as Viola and Richard Briers as Malvolio. The recording was shot on a single set with the appearance of a wintry garden. The costumes are Victorian, and the time of year is Christmas.

Michael Brooke, in his piece for the BFI's screenonline website, particularly commends Briers performance. His "Malvolio is a delight, segueing seamlessly from self-righteous pomposity at inappropriate revelry to truly grotesque self-delusion as he proffers love to his mistress while clad in yellow stockings ".