Theatre review: As You Like It (RSC / RST & tour)

A chaotic train journey nearly scuppered my first Stratford-upon-Avon trip of 2019, but it's a good job I made it in the end because Kimberley Sykes' low-key metatheatrical As You Like It is at times delightful. Stephen Brimson Lewis' design for the opening scenes is a simple grass carpet on the thrust in front of black curtains, although the court of the usurping Duke Frederick (Antony Byrne) doesn't seem particularly austere to start with - but the back story in which he banished his own brother, the lawful Duke, is an indicator that nobody's safe from his violent whims, not even his niece Rosalind (Lucy Phelps.) He's allowed her to stay on at court for the sake of his own daughter, but a reminder that there are still people loyal to his exiled brother makes him kick her out. That reminder comes in the form of the son of a former enemy, and when Rosalind is banished so is Orlando (David Ajao.) They both end up in hiding in the forest, which would be great for them because they've fallen in love; except neither knows the other is there.

When they do meet again, he doesn't recognise her because she's disguised herself as a man for her own safety. Despite now knowing that she's well-protected in the forest, Rosalind keeps up her disguise because the plot would just crash to a halt if she didn't.

Once the action moves to the forest Sykes' conceit reveals itself to be setting the action in the theatre itself: The curtains drop to reveal the backstage area, much of the performance is played with the house lights up, and Orlando, Celia (Sophie Khan Levy) and Touchstone (Sandy Grierson) make use of audience volunteers as trees for the scenes of terrible poetry being carved into their barks (or attached with Post-Its, in this instance.)

Unusually, it's the first half of the production I enjoyed most; but this may be because I've seen so many As You Like Its that it's refreshing to see Sykes put so much effort and inventiveness into these scenes, when the received wisdom is that the play doesn't really kick into gear until everyone starts running around pursuing each other. But there's a nice attention to detail that makes for some good gags in the first hour - I enjoyed Leo Wan's Oliver sitting on a swing, slightly baffled by his own capacity for gleeful evil and hatred, Emily Johnstone's Le Beau organising the wrestling while muttering into her earpiece, and the sycophantic song praising Frederick (complete with BSL translation.)

This also connects to the forest scenes which feature a deaf Audrey in Charlotte Arrowsmith's likeable performance; the twist that her interpreter turns out to be her unrequited suitor William (Tom Dawze) puts a sadder spin on her rejection of him, although Arrowsmith does play a genuine fondness for Touchstone that means we're happy to see them end up together. And this is overall one of the most sweetly romantic As You Like Its I've seen, even if it's far from the funniest.

Although it's good to see different ideas of which roles to gender-swap to even out the discrepancy, I didn't think turning Silvius - now Sylvia (Amelia Donkor) and Phoebe (Laura Elsworthy) into a lesbian relationship worked: The punchline of that whole storyline is that the latter discovers the "man" she fancies is a woman in disguise and goes off him as a result. At worst this switch could be seen as a straight woman getting tricked into a gay relationship, at best the subplot just fizzles out*.

But I liked the way Sophie Stanton's Jacques focuses on the way the character is a proto-environmentalist. The many references to her melancholy (a word that didn't quite mean the same thing it does now, and I suspect is used here more in the sense of "antisocial") mean we often see a glum bystander. But Stanton's version is more of a sardonic commentator who's seen the beauty of the world and doesn't like to see humans messing with it. For a while I thought this could end up being one of those standout productions of the play that I'll always remember as favourites~, but while for me that spark didn't quite last the whole three hours there's plenty here for less jaded eyes to enjoy.

As You Like It by William Shakespeare is booking in repertory until the 31st of August at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; then continuing on tour to Salford, Canterbury, Plymouth, Nottingham, Newcastle and Blackpool (there's a, presumably Barbican-shaped, gap between Salford and Canterbury but nothing's been announced yet.)

Running time: 3 hours including interval.

Photo credit: Topher McGrillis.

*on the other hand I could see turning them into Silvius and Phoebus working; granted that takes away another female role but you could make it up elsewhere. If you're looking for a lesbian relationship how about Celia and Olivia de Boys? OH MY GOD CHARLOTTE THE WRESTLER, WHO'S WITH ME?

~RSC 1989 (my first one,) Globe 2009, Southwark Playhouse 2014, Globe again 2018, if you're asking