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Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy is, under Stratford’s skillful hand, re-imagined to include surrealist elements reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting. The surrealist set proves not only visually stunning but also thematically relevant as it draws out the differences between life at court and life in the wood.
It is in the wood that Rosalind, Shakespeare’s banished protagonist, adopts the disguise of a boy and discovers the sincerity of her true love’s affection. It is also in the wood that the usurped Duke Senior finds the camaraderie necessary to survive his exile until the throne is eventually returned. A story of fraternal conflict, of tension between the political maneuverings of court, of honest, innocent interactions of young people finding their place in the world and of deserving characters receiving their due, Stratford’s rendition of As You Like It provides an aesthetically stunning staging of this Shakespearian classic.
Paul Nolan’s portrayal of Orlando, Rosalind’s love interest, communicates all the energy and innocence of a young man just beginning to make his way in the world. With excellent mastery of the language, and reactions that communicate the emotional sub-text to his lines, Nolan is both comedic and charming. Celia, Rosalind’s cousin and closest confident, also internalized the text offering reactions that seemed nicely reflective of her character. Andrea Runge’s portrayal of Rosalind was admirably high-energy. At points, her performance may have benefited from greater variation of tone and enthusiasm. In an effort to include the audience in Rosalind’s story, Runge, at points, over-emphasized her lines leaving the impression that she was acting the lines instead of the character. That said, her enthusiastic portrayal of such a strong heroine set a lovely pace for the show.
Ben Carlson’s Touchstone was exceptional and successfully provided a humourous foil for Brent Carver’s deliciously sanguine and melancholy Jaques. Frustrated Silvius, played by Ian Lake, and cruel Phoebe, played by Dalal Badr provide one of the most physical and hilarious scenes of the play involving a sheep.
Worth seeing for the aesthetically brilliant re-interpretation of Shakespeare’s fictional landscapes, As You Like It leaves the audience to debate it’s central themes long after the play is finished.
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