AS YOU LIKE IT (Guildford Shakespeare Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://booking.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/booking-start

Available until: 15^th August 2021. The recording becomes available at 7.30pm (and 2.30pm on Sundays) on the day you book.

Guildford Shakespeare Company have been very generous with their digital productions since the pandemic and their many enjoyable productions include A Christmas Carol and Henry V. They have recently returned to live performances, but they have still very kindly chosen to share She Stoops to Conquer and now As You Like It with us. The productions aren’t free to watch online (and there is no reason why they should be), but the company went to the trouble of recording the shows and making them available to us and the standard is always very high so it is well worth the money. Guildford is quite a long way away from where I live so it would be difficult to visit especially now but I am really glad we have had the opportunity to get to know this company’s work, even though the reason is sad.

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare’s most enjoyable comedies and I think it is one of the easiest for younger people to enjoy too. Another advantage of As You Like It is that a lot of it is set in a forest which makes it ideal for the outdoor productions a lot of theatre companies are putting on now in order to help keep us safe while we enjoy live theatre.

This production was filmed in a former chalk quarry in Guildford called Racks Close and it is a really beautiful location. It is visually a very stunning production. Neil Irish’s sets are lovely, they set the scene really well and they help you to believe you’re in a forest (or sitting at home watching people in a real forest which is just as good). Mr Irish’s costumes are also a lot of fun. They are bright, bold and colourful and I especially like Touchstone’s costume. It is unexpected but it works and I think it is really important for young people especially (but really everyone) to see fun, likeable male characters wearing sparkles, heels and fish net tights. All men should be able to dress like that if they want to.

Caroline Devlin directed and adapted the play. I think there are quite a few cuts, but it is very cleverly done and what I love of all about her production is how light-hearted and warm it is. There are worrying things that happen in the play, but there is a lovely happy feeling running right through it which you can feel even through your device. It also has a brilliant soundtrack with a wide range of music composed by Matt Eaton, with choreography by Charlotte Conquest and fight direction from Roger Bartlett. It is all so much fun and it really seems like the whole cast is having a great time too.

Natasha Rickman and Rachel Summers were lovely as cousins in She Stoops to Conquer and in As You Like It they’re playing cousins again. Ms Rickman is a spirited and intelligent Rosalind and Ms Summers is lovely and funny as Celia. James Sheldon is a romantic Orlando. Tom Richardson gives two very different performances as Silvius and Oliver and ends up with half the women in the play. Sarah Gobran is commanding as Duke Frederick, funny as Phebe and very droll as Jaques. Matt Pinches is hilarious like he always is and he and Corey Montague-Sholey (who is also a very elegant Le Beau) make a lovely couple as Touchstone and Audrey. Robert Maskell is a really likeable Duke Senior.

It’s a very enjoyable production and even if you have seen several productions, this one has so many new ideas and nice surprises.