“Endearing and quick-witted”: review of RSC’s ‘As You Like It’

I was prepared for a comedic evening of farce, frustration and wonder when, upon arriving at the Royal Shakespeare Company for As You Like It I spent an arduous ten minutes trying to collect my tickets from the wrong office. It was a somewhat shaky, though amusing in hindsight, start to an evening of entertainment that would soon be alleviated when I saw the stage. A thrust stage, to be precise, in the centre of which dangled a solitary swing, washed in a cold, blue spotlight. This rather chilling image was humorously undercut when Orlando (David Ajao), with seemingly boundless energy and innocent charm, emerged from the upstage to sit on the swing and gaze into the audience with an exaggerated expression of childlike longing.

The humour only increased during the opening scene following the arrival of Oliver, Orlando’s narcissistic and scheming older brother. Within a matter of minutes I was chuckling, as the diminutive older brother, decked out in a grey suit two sizes too big for him (just one of the genius little touches made by the Costume and Lighting Designer Bretta Gerecke) was physically dominated by Orlando, putting an exceedingly comical twist on the latter’s: “mutiny against this servitude”. Leo Wan certainly embraced the role of the nauseating caricature that is required of every effective comic villain, playing on the swings as his plot to kill his brother in a wrestling competition provided the catalyst for the sympathetic Orlando to meet his love interest and heroine of As You Like It: the “heavenly Rosalind”.

David Ajao as Orlando has seemingly boundless energy and innocent charm

Rosalind is a female character whose shoes are nigh on impossible to fill. Arguably one of the most notable female Shakespearean characters, she is perhaps matched only by Lady Macbeth in her iconic status. I was pleased to note that the shoes of Rosalind were wonderfully filled by Lucy Phelps, who delivered a plucky, charismatic and, at times, quite moving portrayal of the timeless character, even if she did spend the majority of the second act barefoot. In many ways, the story of Rosalind could be better suited to that of a revenge tragedy. Separated from her father Duke Senior, who has been banished to the Forest of Arden by her cruel uncle Duke Frederick, she falls in love with Orlando, only to lose him due to Oliver’s devious scheming. (Both of the Dukes are played superbly well by Anthony Byrne who transitioned from a stone-faced tyrant to the peaceable, pantheistic usurped Duke Senior so well that I found myself wondering if they employed twins to play both roles.) Yet how can such an endearing and quick-witted character be tragic when she is accompanied by the equally quick-witted Celia (played by Warwick graduate Sophie Khan Levy) and the exponentially funny fool Touchstone (played by Sandy Grierson).

Both of the Dukes are played superbly well by Anthony Byrne who transitioned from a stone-faced tyrant to the peaceable, pantheistic usurped Duke Senior so well

Indeed, Touchstone is always there to prevent the audience from slipping into boredom. Whether he was running intellectual rings around his companions, performing graceless feats of clownish acrobatics or imitating a rock star, Grierson often had the audience in stitches. Highlights included his bumbling romantic relationship with the goatherd Audrey, played by the remarkably expressive and aggressive Charlotte Arrowsmith, and the absurd love triangle that ensued. This love triangle that was rivalled only by the entanglement of the shepherdess Silvia (played by Amelia Donkor), smitten with the egotistical Phoebe (played by Laura Elseworthy), who in turn is utterly enthralled by Rosalind’s male alter ego, Ganymede.

Of course, it would be a crime to comment on this production of As You Like It without mentioning Touchstone’s melancholic yet compelling counterpart, the poetic traveller Jacques. Sophie Stanton provides an unexpectedly charming portrayal of a character that, in many ways, seems to be often in the background. Stanton, in her quiet, cynical but ultimately tender-hearted evocation of the character provides a shadow that contrasts the wit of Touchstone and the romanticism of Duke Senior, a poignant reminder that beyond the little wooded paradise that the characters have constructed lies a world of authoritarianism, futility and, ultimately death. Stanton’s empathetic rendition of one of Shakespeare’s most famous poems, ‘All the World’s a Stage’, clearly evokes this melancholic worldview.

The innate theatricality of the world within the story of As You Like It seemed to be a point of focus for the director Kimberly Sykes, a vision that encompassed the entire production

Indeed, the innate theatricality of the world within the story of As You Like It seemed to be a point of focus for the director Kimberly Sykes, a vision that encompassed the entire production. The most significant example of this stunning incorporation of the classic Shakespearean themes into the production style itself is during the transition from the court of Duke Frederick to the Forest of Arden. The black curtains obscuring half the stage fell with a bang. The audience was greeted to the chaotic spectacle of the cast changing costumes, playing with props and engaging in casual but incomprehensible dialogue. Although this was perhaps the most poignant reminder of the implementation of Sykes’ vision, there were other moments peppered throughout the play – for instance, Jacques’ demand that Amiens sing for her, before demanding that the band play music, before going on to interrupt them. Being able to direct that without having the band burst into little fits of laughter, as I certainly did, the composer and music director (Tim Sutton and Gareth Ellis respectively) deserve some credit, as does the puppetry director and co-designer Mervyn Miller, for creating a behemoth of a surprise that provided a much needed spectacle for the romantic and upbeat conclusion to this brilliant comedy.

As You Like It is at the RSC Stratford until 31 August. Tickets are available here.