‘As You Like It’ At The Globe Theatre

There’s nothing quite like a calm after a storm is there? All the rain had blown away which is just as well as The Globe theatre is an open air theatre. Lockdown has ended so the theatre is packed with eager theatre goers and tourists in for a night of laughter and entertainment!  But that’s not just the only calm after the storm, the cast of this production of ‘As You Like It’ also performed the wonderful ‘The Tempest’ also at The Globe a few weeks previous. I was so confused that I had to double check my tickets to make sure I was at the right performance. But I was. So, having seen this small company of players before, I knew I was in for an excellent evening. And I was not disappointed, my expectations of this, my favourite of all of Shakespeares plays, were exceeded!

So, what’s the low down? Well a Duke has been usurped by his devious younger brother, so the duke runs and hides in the forest of Arden. His daughter the lovely Rosalind has been left behind to be a companion to the usurpers daughter Celia. But the usurper is paranoid so he banishes Rosalind too. But not before the two women watch a wrestling match and Rosalind falls-head-over-heels-love-at-first-sight with Orlando who is the wronged younger son of another noble. Celia is furious and decides to run off with Rosalind, BUT as the two are female ( and those were dangerous times they lived in) they go in disguise. Hilarity ensues. 

as you can imagine a lot of shit goes down in this wood. This play is after all one of the first cross-dressing plays that intentionally acknowledges it. Think back to the 1600’s the actor playing Rosalind would’ve been a man playing a woman who is disguising him/herself(?) As a man. A headache waiting to happen basically. But with this play and the actors on the stage, cross dressing and gender blindness are key. After all, there are only 6 actors playing all the parts! The character of Touchstone is played by a woman and Audrey, the lady Touchstone wishes to marry, is played by a man. With a beard, no less. But this is why it works in this play. The cross dressing, gender swapping just adds to the humour of this play. It was a marvel to watch, those actors were incredible, dexterous and had their characters down to a t. Because the ensemble was so small, naturally they all played many parts, but the transitions between actors and characters was flawless and seamless. Everyone noticed ‘oh that’s the actor also playing Jaques!’ But was there a trace of Jaques in the other character played? Absolutely not.

The only times when the performance felt a little flat was with our Orlando because everyone left remembering the enchanting pining, overthinking amour that came from his Rosalind. Rosalind was such a presence on stage that all others seemed to disappear. Even the mighty ‘All the World’s a Stage’ speech, flickered briefly, but died shortly after when Rosalind bounded on stage fraught with worry and anxiety at the whereabout of her beloved.

This play, should you go see it (And I highly recommend you do) will have you smiling, laughing and clapping from beginning to end. It was a night of pure joy and, in these trying and difficult times. A bit of joy won’t hurt anyone.