Members of Oxford University Dramatic Society take on one of Shakespeare’s best loved comedies in this fresh production of As You Like It. With a magical stage design and full Elizabethan costume, it promises to be a sumptuous performance.
Cast members command the stage and stare earnestly into the audience as they deliver some of Shakespeare’s most memorable speeches. Jonnie McAloon, as the philosopher, libertine and would-be fool Jacques delivers his famous “all the world’s a stage” lines with wonderful nonchalance, reclining lazily upon the stage. McAloon shines throughout the performance, delivering lines with a punch that gives the play its enigmatically philosophical and humorous tones. There is good chemistry between all cast members and their sheer multi-talentedness shines through; Adam Bouyamourn takes his turn at Charles the wrestler, Amiens and Sir Oliver Martext, performing each role with gusto.
The love story of Orlando and Rosalind is beautifully done and Roseanna Frascona creates both the sexual chemistry and the sense of farce inherent in her ‘Ganymede’ costume, whilst retaining a sense of strong emotions lying beneath.
The director Maximus Marenbon has cleverly created a contrast between court life and the pastoral fantasy land of the Forest of Arden. The violence of Oliver’s torture at the hand of Duke Frederick contrasts with the peace and civility of Duke Senior’s meal in the Forest. The ‘mission statement’ of the play is to not neglect the dark, political undertones of the play, as well as encompassing the pastoral paradise of Arden and showing the collisions between the two with a brutal realism.
The production retains all the classic features of Shakespearean comedy; extravagant wordplay and innuendo run alongside cross dressing and music. It is a thought-provoking and funny performance which with the addition of lavish costume and a new score for voice and lute-style classical guitar promises to be hugely enjoyable whilst bringing new meaning to the themes of the play.
four stars
As you like it by William Shakespeare is at OFS, 5th week, Tues-Sat 7.30pm.
