Daniel Monks on starring in 'Twelfth Night' at the Barbican

This gifted Australian actor has been making waves on both stage and screen since his London debut in Teenage Dick. He now takes on Shakespeare in the RSC’s production of Twelfth Night.

Summary

• Daniel Monks is starring as Orsino in Twelfth Night at the Barbican
• He can currently be seen on screen in All Her Fault alongside Sarah Snook
• Monks made his UK theatre debut in Teenage Dick

"I really love being on stage,” says Daniel Monks. Well, luckily for the 36-year-old Australian actor, is currently starring as Orsino in Prasanna Puwanarajah’s production of Twelfth Night at the Barbican. No stranger to a London theatre, he’s previously won a Stage Debut Award for Best Actor in a Play in Teenage Dick at the Donmar Warehouse in 2019 and worked with Emilia Clarke in Jamie Lloyd’s production of The Seagull in 2020. More recently, he’s hit our screens in the thriller TV series All Her Fault, alongside fellow Australian Sarah Snook.

We caught up with him, mid rehearsals, about preparing for the Shakespeare play.

Book Twelfth Night tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Do you remember the first time you saw Twelfth Night?
Yes, it is definitely the Shakespeare play I know best. When I was 20 years old, I did a directing attachment at the Black Swan State Theatre Company in Western Australia on a production of Twelfth Night. I watched it all day, every day, for six weeks. When I was reading the script for this part, I was like “oh yeah, these lines are actually etched into my long-term memory”.

Why do you think Twelfth Night is a good play to see during the winter months?
There’s something about this production that feels made for the British winter. It feels like it comes from the depths of a cold, dark and lonely winter, and people all come together to drink, laugh and cause havoc. It is like this gorgeous, warm balm for audiences in the height of the chilly season.

Tell me a bit about the production?
The director, Prasanna Puwanarajah, was my main draw for being in the show. He’s an absolute genius. He’s taken the Twelfth Night we all know and love and made it into something deeply human and empathetic. He really doesn’t shy away from the grief and pain the characters feel, while also leaning into the script’s lightness and joy. It really is a beautiful, tender production.

You’re the only new cast member in this production of Twelfth Night, which was first at the RSC in 2024. How do you feel about coming into the show?
Well, it is slightly nerve-racking, but also so exciting. It is a new creative challenge because the other cast members have obviously done it before. It is great coming into a show that was so well received.

How does being a disabled actor come into your portrayal of Orsino?
I think it can’t help but come into my portrayal because being disabled is so much who I am, and the way I express myself is through my unique disabled body. But having said that, Orsino is not a disabled role. Since Teenage Dick in 2019, every play I’ve done hasn’t been about disability. I feel really lucky, and I think it is really important that disabled actors should be part of telling all stories.

Since you’ve started working as an actor, what changes, if any, have you seen regarding access and inclusion for people with disabilities?
Such a big question! I would say in my experience that the UK is better and more inclusive in terms of disability than the US or Australia, which is a massive part of my wanting to live here. Pre-Covid things were heading in a really great direction, but it regressed again during the pandemic. Things come in waves. The longer I’m in the industry, the more I think changes are going to be permanent, and then it goes backwards and forwards again. There are so many great disabled artists out there.

This isn’t your first time on a London stage. What was your UK debut in Teenage Dick like?
That was honestly the most beautiful experience ever. So many people from that production are still my really close friends today. Winning the Stage Debut Award was surreal because I was watching the ceremony from Sydney in lockdown in the middle of the night. But I was just so, so grateful.

You’ve just been in All Her Fault. How did it feel getting the call for that role?
Oh, a dream. You do so many self-tapes as an actor, but when All Her Fault came along, I thought, “I just had to get this role.” I was 35 at the time, the character was 35. He had a spinal injury and used a cane to walk, and I was like, “well, that is literally me”. It was just the best experience. Especially the fifth episode, we filmed it like it was a one-act play.

And what was it like working with Sarah Snook?
She is just the best. For those people who haven’t seen the show, I use an electric wheelchair because my character’s family is quite wealthy. And, in real life, if I have a really busy, physical day, the next day I need to stay in bed to recover, because I have chronic pain. On set, because I had the wheelchair, it was amazing because we’d finish the day and I’d not actually be in agony. At the end of the shoot, Sarah was like, “Well would you use the wheelchair?” and she actually bought it for me. She had it shipped to London, and now I can zoom around the city this Christmas. I’ll always say she is the queen of queens.

What do you hope the next few years of your career will look like?
That’s such a difficult question! I made a rule with myself that I’d do at least one play a year. I’ve been really lucky with the kind of roles I’ve been given on stage so far. I’d say All Her Fault was probably my first meaty role for TV, so I’d love to do more stuff like that.

Book Twelfth Night tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the January 2026 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Daniel Monks. Inset: Monks in Twelfth Night; in Teenage Dick; in All Her Fault with Abby Elliott and Jay Ellis. (All courtesy of production)