Twelfth Night: 1941 (A Staged Reading)

Living Room Productions, in partnership with the AFLAMDA Studio Reading Room Series, will present an industry staged reading of Twelfth Night:1941 on Friday, October 16th, 2026 at 2:00 PM at ART NY’s Leynse Studio, located at 520 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018.

Inspired by incredible true events, Twelfth Night:1941 is a play within a play that follows a troupe of actors who mount a performance of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy during the Blitz of London.

After discovering their theatre was reduced to a pile of rubble during the previous night’s air raid, the players must relocate their production to a nearby church, just in time to re-open on the 12th Night of Christmas. In the morning, James, one of their leading men, ships out to war. No one says it, but everyone knows this is the last night they’ll all be together. Old tensions surface fast, and a scheme is hatched to give him a send-off worth remembering. 

Featuring gorgeous original live music throughout, Twelfth Night: 1941 is a love letter to our enduring need to gather, tell stories, and even find joy in the face of uncertainty and devastation.

Writer and director Ellyn Heald (The Hills of California) brings Twelfth Night:1941 to the stage with a distinctive theatrical vision and original score by composer Will Healy, Founder and Artistic Director of ShoutHouse and recipient of the 2023 Leonard Bernstein Prize. 

The creative team also includes Laura Carswell (Lead Producer), Kaileela Hobby (Associate Producer), Martin Kemp (Sound Design/Producer), and Hera Jung (Stage Manager).

The cast for the reading includes: Chad Pierre Vann, Chris Ryan (American Horror Story), Dan Wilson, Elizabeth Colwell (Slow Horses), John Maddaloni, Julien Alam, Kaileela Hobby (Vanity Fair), Lake Wilburn, Helena Mueller, Zoë Laiz, and musicians Mary Knapp (Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812), Will Healy, and YoonJung Hwang.