Theatre Review: As You Like It

The RSC is back with a brand-new production of William Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It (1599), directed by Omar Elerian. Duke Senior (Robin Soans) lives in the Forest of Arden, having been exiled from court by his brother, Duke Frederick (Robin Soans). Senior’s daughter Rosalind (Geraldine James) is at court with her cousin Celia (Maureen Beattie) but is suddenly also exiled by her uncle, who fears her popularity. Celia joins Rosalind in escaping to the Forest of Arden, and both assume disguises: Celia as a poor woman, Aliena, and Rosalind as a young man, Gannymede. Orlando (Malcolm Sinclair), who has fallen in love with Rosalind and fears murder by his brother Oliver (Michael Bertenshaw), also flees to the forest. Chaos and fun inevitably ensue when Orlando encounters Rosalind (who returns his feelings) in her male disguise, as well as from the escapades of the fool Touchstone (James Hayes).

This production of As You Like It employs an interesting conceit: a play-within-a-play in which actors who previously performed As You Like It back in the 1970s reunite to recreate their performance (albeit with some missing cast members and the addition of new, younger ones). Thus the cast are all milling about on stage before the show begins, which is certainly a deviation from the norm of the actors waiting in the wings. Bertenshaw then introduces the concept to us before the play begins properly.

…play-within-a-play in which actors who previously performed As You Like It back in the 1970s reunite to recreate their performance

Owing to the conceit, the play features various deliberately ‘bad’ moments, such as actors struggling with proper stage combat or needing to be fed their lines. While this makes for some humourous moments, on the whole, I feel that it does not work. These moments, combined with the actors all sitting on stage and wearing everyday ‘rehearsal clothes’, make it seem as though we are watching an amateur performance in rehearsal instead of a professional, polished production.

The second half of the show, however, is much improved by the lack of deliberate mistakes and the use of clear, theatrical costumes for the characters. The play flows much better due to not constantly being interrupted by actors breaking character or feeding lines to others, meaning you can properly get into the story. As a result, the second half is much more enjoyable, and I wish that the first half could be more like it.

Fun and entertaining use of live music throughout the production adds to the lighter parts of the play, while stage machinery is cleverly employed for spectacle and humour

The fun and entertaining use of live music throughout the production adds to the lighter parts of the play, while stage machinery is cleverly employed for spectacle and humour. James gives a fantastic performance as Rosalind, providing both serious, heartfelt emotion and perfectly-timed comedy. Hayes is, in many ways, the star of the show as the fool Touchstone – his stellar comic performance is enhanced by quips to the audience and bizarre, wacky costumes in the second half (props to the wardrobe department for this). Soans plays both Duke Senior and Duke Frederick so brilliantly that, until I looked in more detail at the cast list after the performance, I did not realise that these characters were being played by the same actor. Sinclair’s Orlando, however, is less convincing, and I feel that the relationship between Orlando and Adam (Tyreke Leslie) is not portrayed with enough emotion appropriate to their friendship and the sorrow of Adam’s death.

Overall, while the conceit employed in this production of As You Like It is a brave and interesting choice, it ultimately does not work for me due to its seeming unprofessionalism. The second half of the show, in which the conceit is much less obvious and the show is of a professional standard, is more enjoyable. Having felt disappointed in the first half, I was laughing during the second half and was pleased with the ending of the show.