Theatre review: As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe)

Continuing to suggest Michelle Terry's vision for Shakespeare's Globe is as the most joyously queer theatre in That London, and tying that into the gender-bending embedded in many of Shakespeare's plays, the 2023 summer season closes as it opened, with a production largely cast with LGBTQ+ performers in roles that don't necessarily match their pronouns. Ellen McDougall's As You Like It goes one step further by making its queerness an integral part of how it divides the play's two very different worlds. We begin in the monochrome court of Duke Frederick (Dale Rapley,) who usurped his position from his own brother, whom he banished to the forest. But he allowed his niece Rosalind (Nina Bowers) to remain, as she was so close to his daughter Celia (Macy-Jacob Seelochan.) But a wrestling competition reminds him that his brother's former allies are still around.

Son of one of the banished Duke's most beloved supporters, Orlando (Isabel Adomakoh Young) wins the wrestling match only to get kicked out for his troubles; Frederick also decides it's time to banish Rosalind.

But as Rosalind sets out for the forest disguised as a man, and with her cousin in tow, she does so excitedly - she's fallen in love with Orlando, and hopes to meet him again in exile. When she does she's dressed as a man, and deals with this in the most obvious way possible: No, not just washing her fake moustache off and telling him the path is clear for them to get together; she decides her male alter ego should cosplay as herself, and test Orlando's love. (Adomakoh Young happily plays up the fact that Orlando is far from the brightest male lead, so he fails to see anything weird about this.)

The added level of queerness to McDougall's production becomes apparent when we reach the forest. Without labouring the point or weighing down the show's lightness, it does feel like there's a subtle reference to the increase in anti-LGBTQ+ laws in recent years: With no set to speak of, it's down to Max Johns' costumes to provide the major design element, and this is where colour suddenly bursts in. As Tonderai Munyevu's Duke Senior minces across the stage, it becomes apparent there's a very particular form of expression his brother has objected to and thrown out.

But here in the court in exile the forest is a haven for campness and colour, and the play's high number of songs have been replaced with even more musical breaks for song and dance featuring more recent hits. The forest-dwelling characters' outfits wouldn't look out of place in a Pride parade, while Alex Austin highlights the way Jaques' "melancholy" is largely characterised by incredibly bitchy comments - the library is definitely open. (The fact that a couple of audience members had brought gurgling babies with them this afternoon also meant Austin had a very specific place he could point to for the "infant" section of the Seven Ages of Man speech.)

Although it's lovely to see the Globe give work to some new faces, some of whom might not get this kind of opportunity elsewhere, it can work both ways. While the lack of experience doesn't result in any outright bad performances, there are a couple that definitely don't feel like they're getting much out of their characters. Consequently this isn't anywhere near the funniest or most memorable As You Like It I've seen, especially at this venue which has had some very strong showings with this play.

There are standouts though, especially Seelochan, who we can add to the list of actors who really get how Celia can steal this show, including by, without ever trying to put her cousin off what she wants, making it clear she knows exactly how much of a dullard Orlando actually is. There's a cliché about acting being about listening that really came to mind watching their performance: Seelochan always seems to be paying attention to what's going on around them, resulting in some scene-stealing reactions.

Overall this As You Like It is charming and fun, and in keeping with the Globe's recent output, serious and subversive in an understated way. The venue's gender-blind casting is also now so confidently executed it can give us Jessica Alade convincing as both the smitten shepherdess Phoebe, and the brutal Charles the Wrestler, a bit of cast doubling you don't see every day. But the uneven cast means that for all the standouts, there are also elements that never quite come to life.

As You Like It by William Shakespeare is booking in repertory until the 29th of October at Shakespeare's Globe.

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Ellie Kurttz.