RSC: As You Like It

I'm not exactly a traditionalist about Shakespeare, but when changes are made I like to understand the reason. This version of As You Like It has multiple gimmicks: gender bending with Jaques and several minor roles, interaction with the audience (literally bringing them onstage), a few lines of text being sung, and Juno represented by an enormous machine. Audrey was played by a Deaf actress with an interpreter; I don't consider this a gimmick, and it wasn't hard to get used to. But gender bending usually leaves me cold, and it did here too. It may be less noticeable if you're not already familiar with the play, and the Jaques character actually went over pretty well. Besides actually bringing audience members onstage to play trees, there were a number of fourth-wall breaks that annoyed me a little.

However! The lead actress was excellent as Rosalind, and the wrestling scene was well directed. In fact I have to congratule the director in general, because he or she brought out the best in everybody. And I thought the Juno machine was a stroke of genius, especially the fact that it was handled in a rather old-fashioned way. It was also mesmerizing. I did think the Orlando actor lacked a little oomph - not acting skill so much as presence. Overall, they really go for the laughs and seldom fail.

I would recommend this production to someone who has seen other Shakespeare comedies but not this one, or to a "completist" who doesn't mind a modern-dress version.

'As You Like It' is one of the few Shakespeare plays to not have a truly great production of the ones available. Almost all of them, except the 'Shakespeare: The Animated Tales' adaptation, are heavily flawed and some more so than others (the 1992 Christine Edzard production faring worst). Part of the problem is the play itself, which has some memorable speeches and characters but also a thin story and an absurd ending that none of the available adaptations solved.

Royal Shakespeare Company's 2019 production is one of the better ones seen. It is not perfect, with the thing that has always been a problem staging 'As You Like It' still being one. It is though very entertaining, charming and well designed and acted, and its energy cannot be denied. Like most of the Shakespeare productions to experiment with the gender reversal concept, this particular concept didn't quite come off and didn't seem necessary.

The many good things, which vastly outweigh the not so good, will be mentioned first. The production is beautifully designed, with vibrant colour and a magical atmosphere. Really appreciated actually that it wasn't cluttered or boistrous visually, and instead the atmosphere was fully able to speak. Fully enhanced by the intimacy of the photography that makes one feel like they are there. The music has a lovely ethereal whimsy that fits the play's tone more than ideally. The production is hugely entertaining and often hilarious, thanks to the comic timing of the cast and of course Shakespeare's sparkling showing his unrivalled mastery of language and text.

It is also a production full of charm, especially the chemistry between Rosalind and Celia. The energy levels is incredibly high and constant too, which is very hard to do with such a slight story, as well as clear and non-convoluted (also hard to do) and the stage direction does wonders making the drama feel fresh and accessible without trying too hard (unlike a few other recent productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company).

Lucy Phelps brings a lot of sincere heart and playful energy to the demanding role of Rosalind, showing no signs of being taxed and she is very moving later on. Absolutely loved her sparkling chemistry with Sophie Khan Levy's radiant Celia and an endearingly gentle one with the enthusiastic but not too over-eager David Ajao. Sandy Griersson is a lot of fun as Touchstone and Sophie Stanton really stands out as an energetic yet also melancholic Jacques (the only gender reversal actually worked). It is not always easy making the famous "all the world's a stage" speech fresh and relevant, but both are done brilliantly here.

For all those great things, there are a few debits. Although the production did wonderfully at bringing a lot of vibrancy and energy to a story that could have been static and dull, it (like the other productions available) fails at solving the problem with the play's ending. Actually managing to be even sillier and stranger here.

Biggest issue is the gender reversal conceit, which the production is too over-reliant on and it just distracts from and further confuses the action, not good when the story is an already complicated one. Silvius' especially did not make sense, the character is just too specific to make it work which was the most common problem for most productions attempting this.

Overall, a well done, intriguing and admirable production and better than most seen of 'As You Like It', but not great. 7/10.