Cultural Dessert

'As You Like It' by William Shakespeare

9 August 2022

Last Friday evening we were at Wrest Park in Silsoe to see an outdoor performance of ‘As You Like It’ by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men who specialise in very traditional productions of Shakespeare plays, with an all male cast and Elizabethan costume – giving you a good idea of what it must have been like to see the plays when they were first performed. A year ago, at the same venue, we saw their production of ‘Macbeth’ (reviewed here in August 2021). ‘As You Like It’ provided another opportunity to see one of Shakespeare’s gender-swapping comedies making much more sense than it usually does - as we experienced with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men production of ‘Twelfth Night’ (reviewed here in August 2009). Somehow, with a female actor playing a woman pretending to be a man you never believe anyone would actually fall for the disguise. But when (as it would have been in Shakespeare’s time) it is a male actor playing a woman dressed as a man, it is easier to suspend your disbelief and go with the plot. Peter Stickney’s production of ‘As You Like It’ was great fun, with a very impressive cast including stand-out performances by Ben Lynn as Rosalind and Jonny Warr as Celia.

Labels: Drama, Theatre

posted by Robin Simpson @ 4:21 pm