AS YOU LIKE IT. To 25 March.
London
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare
Novello Theatre To 25 March 2006
Audio-described 18 March 2pm
Captioned 11 March 2pm
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat Thu & Sat 2pm
Runs 3hr 20min One interval
TICKETS: 0870 609 1110
www.rsc.org.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 7 March
A production built on human contrasts, round a sturdy central oak-tree so realistic they ought it name it 'Beerbohm'.
Both parts of this Royal Shakespeare Company production begin with all the actors facing us. First time in bright lighting, changing to wintery cold as snow falls. After the interval, snow still lying and the lighting icy, all changes to summery warmth. At the end the cast leaves into the auditorium. Play’s over; it’s back to business.
Contrasting expectations (full ensemble at the start, departure in place of line-up) match the switches between a ducal court whose arbitrary power and cruelty dominate the opening, to the kindlier world of Arden. It’s emphasised as Jonathan Newth switches ducal identity by donning or doffing a garment, as do the courtiers. Cruelty and kindness are human possibilities; determine your life as you like it.
Except, the court world trickles away, till finally (in one of the late plot moves that seem, here, to defy credulity deliberately) the ‘villains’ join the popular move to the forest, where humanity rules over hierarchy.
Contrasts run through Dominic Cooke’s invigorating production. Joseph Mydell’s Jaques, lofty rather than unkind, has an intellectual distaste for material things, while Paul Chahidi’s Touchstone talks highly of the court when he’s in the country but is associated with earthy physicality: a more than usually filthy Audrey (who cleans up smart but awkward) and the slimy substances he comically encounters.
These are dependable performances in a production where acting quality isn’t at an RSC peak. Apart from the women who contrast the court’s male world. Lia Williams’ Rosalind has a passionate nature; she’s first seen alone, breathing deeply outside a stifling court ball. Her nature infuses her love, making her double-disguise stratagem with Orlando a means of learning about herself.
In contrast Amanda Harris’s Celia is a study in the practical, with the spectacles she repeatedly nudges up her nose and a shrewd, witty manner that’s never taken by surprise. Until the woman who started hand-in-hand in conscious solidarity with her friend against her father’s fury, is struck by passion at the sudden arrival in Arden of Orlando’s brother. Love makes the world go round; Williams and Harris propel Cooke’s production forward.
Orlando: Barnaby Kay
Adam: Patrick Waldron
Oliver: John Mackay
Dennis: Alan Morrissey
Charles: David Rogers
Celia: Amanda Harris
Rosalind: Lia Williams
Touchstone: Paul Chahidi
Le Beau: Miles Richardson
Duke Frederick/Duke Senior: Jonathan Newth
Hisperia: Sally Tatum
Jaques: Joseph Mydell
Amiens: Gurpreet Singh
Silvius: Jamie Ballard
Corin: Peter Bygott
Audrey: Meg Fraser
Sor Oliver Martext: Edward Clayton
Phebe: Caitlin Mottram
William/Jacques de Boys: Trystan Gravelle
Lords: Peter Bankole, Chris McGill, Barrie Palmer
Director: Dominic Cooke
Designer: Rae Smith
Lighting: Paule Constable
Sound: Paul Arditti
Music: Gary Yershon
Music Director: Mark Bousie
Movement: Liz Ranken
Fights: Terry King
Assistant director: Hannah Eidinow
2006-03-09 13:17:44