Was ihr wollt

In the organizer's words:

What you will

by William Shakespeare (1601)

Viola has been separated from her brother Sebastian in a shipwreck and comes ashore in Illyria. Here, disguised as a page, she decides to go into service with Duke Orsino under the name Cesario. The Duke takes a liking to the young nobleman and sends him as a messenger to Olivia, whom he adores. Viola, who has fallen in love with the duke, suffers from these errands. To her delight, however, Olivia rejects Orsino's courtship, as she has sworn to mourn her deceased brother for seven years - but then falls in love with the supposed young man Cesario, of all people. This leads to turbulent entanglements, which are exacerbated by the appearance of Sebastian, who was also rescued in the shipwreck, as he looks exactly like Viola. A melancholy jester accompanies the numerous amorous aberrations and pranks of the colorful company around Squire Tobias with his wisdom. He also takes part in a prank that Tobias and the chambermaid Maria play on the snooty steward Malvolio: They trick him into believing that Olivia loves him, whereupon he makes such a fool of himself that Olivia thinks he is mad. He is imprisoned and, deeply offended, seeks revenge...