It's a bard knock life: the cast of As You Like It
AS YOU LIKE IT
Tulane University
So there’s a festival going on at Tulane celebrating this guy William Shakespeare MAYBE YOU’VE HEARD OF HIM? You know the one. Beard. Ruff. Couldn’t stop knocking out plays. Anyway, Big Billy S is being honored with two productions, the turbulent wartime drama of Henry IV Part I and the feelgood comedy hit of the summer of 1599, As You Like It.
Given…you know…*points to everything*...a comedy seemed like the way to go for this poor reviewer, and holy pantaloons didn’t a 423-year old romantic comedy hit the spot. The cast deliver a high-octane romp, directors Jon Greene and Torey Hayward mixing historic and contemporary aesthetics to great effect. We jump from blaring, WWE-style wrestling bouts to pastoral woodland frolics in a heartbeat, and though it should be jarring, it’s a seamless journey.
The plot has more turns than the Gentilly Boulevard intersection, but here’s the upshot: Orlando (KC Simms) is a sweet boy, but he’s been hard done by thanks to his initially pompous brother Oliver (Gavin Robinson), both of them sons of an upwardly-mobile duke. Long story short, he catches the eye of princess Rosalind (Kendra Unique) but there are obstacles aplenty in the way. This means that Rosalind, banished from the court (errr, RUDE) decides to dress as a man and enter Orlando’s mossy, woodland nook to assess his intentions. She is so convincing that she attracts a love interest of her own, a deluded Phoebe (Annie Gaia), and, well, hilarity ensues.
Joan Long’s strikingly sparse metallic set both threatens and softens under the skillful lighting of Martin Sachs. Scenes transition to rousingly evocative music by the wonderful Trey Ming and all the while we’re kept in the moment thanks to Mike Harkins’ lovely ambient sound design. Leah Floyd obviously has fun with the costuming, delivering everything from garish luchadores to rustic hayseeds with equal aplomb.
Even if you haven’t seen or read the play, you’ll know some of its more famous passages. There’s the “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, which leads into the ‘Seven Ages of Man’ speech as well as “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” A personal favourite of mine is from Rosalind in disguise, fending off unwanted attention from Phoebe, warning her exhaustedly, “I pray you, do not fall in love with me, for I am falser than vows made in wine.” Classic Rosalind!
Kendra Unique and Leyla Beydoun drive the story and are dazzlingly loveable partners in crime. The stage is in the round and they playfully commandeer every part of it. They’re outrageously flirty and fizzle with conspiratorial mischief as cohorts Rosalind and Celia. The dashing KC Simms wins everyone’s hearts with a nuanced performance as surely the story’s only pure soul, and Gavin Robison expertly navigates Oliver’s character arc with imperious, regal charisma. Pamela D Roberts (Duke Senior/Duke Frederic) and Monica R Harris (Jacques de Boys/Chalres/William) both clearly relish their gender-blind castings and set the stage alight with irresistible charm and riotous energy every time we see them.
Matthew Raetz as Touchstone is a handsome, hilarious whirlwind of camp indignance, aided by an equally engaging Elizabeth Frenchie Faith as Audrey, the two of them stealing each scene that they chaotically tumble into (Frenchie Faith also having an unforgettably dynamic turn as twitching, bro-ey wrestling promoter Le Beau). Annie Gaia’s bimbo-fied Phoebe has the audience in fits while Lynx Murphy underpins the story with assured mastery and sarcastic ennui as the melancholic Jacques. The supporting cast of Nathalie Boyd, Mint Bryan and Chrissy Jacobs are never less than utterly engaging in their various guises, the lusty singalong scenes drawing applause from the wrapt audience. The entire cast’s irrepressible chemistry draws you into the sheer fun they’re having with each other, and every scene becomes a singular joy.
As is the way with rom-coms, even 423 year-old ones, everything works out in the end, and the climax involves the piece-de-resistance of a huge anthropomorphic stag, memorable in its own right. It’s a ridiculously satisfying experience, full of winks to the audience, subtle (and not-so-subtle) physical comedy and heartwarming relationships. It was definitely Shakespeare as I like it (see what I did there?), and, if thou wouldst allow me, my liege, I’ll be so bold as to suggest it will be the same for you. In short: a triumph.
Paul Oswell
AS YOU LIKE IT runs from Thursday 23rd June-Saturday 25th June, tickets here.
Henry IV Part I runs from July 14th to July 30th, tickets here.
Tulane University
So there’s a festival going on at Tulane celebrating this guy William Shakespeare MAYBE YOU’VE HEARD OF HIM? You know the one. Beard. Ruff. Couldn’t stop knocking out plays. Anyway, Big Billy S is being honored with two productions, the turbulent wartime drama of Henry IV Part I and the feelgood comedy hit of the summer of 1599, As You Like It.
Given…you know…*points to everything*...a comedy seemed like the way to go for this poor reviewer, and holy pantaloons didn’t a 423-year old romantic comedy hit the spot. The cast deliver a high-octane romp, directors Jon Greene and Torey Hayward mixing historic and contemporary aesthetics to great effect. We jump from blaring, WWE-style wrestling bouts to pastoral woodland frolics in a heartbeat, and though it should be jarring, it’s a seamless journey.
The plot has more turns than the Gentilly Boulevard intersection, but here’s the upshot: Orlando (KC Simms) is a sweet boy, but he’s been hard done by thanks to his initially pompous brother Oliver (Gavin Robinson), both of them sons of an upwardly-mobile duke. Long story short, he catches the eye of princess Rosalind (Kendra Unique) but there are obstacles aplenty in the way. This means that Rosalind, banished from the court (errr, RUDE) decides to dress as a man and enter Orlando’s mossy, woodland nook to assess his intentions. She is so convincing that she attracts a love interest of her own, a deluded Phoebe (Annie Gaia), and, well, hilarity ensues.
Joan Long’s strikingly sparse metallic set both threatens and softens under the skillful lighting of Martin Sachs. Scenes transition to rousingly evocative music by the wonderful Trey Ming and all the while we’re kept in the moment thanks to Mike Harkins’ lovely ambient sound design. Leah Floyd obviously has fun with the costuming, delivering everything from garish luchadores to rustic hayseeds with equal aplomb.
Even if you haven’t seen or read the play, you’ll know some of its more famous passages. There’s the “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, which leads into the ‘Seven Ages of Man’ speech as well as “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” A personal favourite of mine is from Rosalind in disguise, fending off unwanted attention from Phoebe, warning her exhaustedly, “I pray you, do not fall in love with me, for I am falser than vows made in wine.” Classic Rosalind!
Kendra Unique and Leyla Beydoun drive the story and are dazzlingly loveable partners in crime. The stage is in the round and they playfully commandeer every part of it. They’re outrageously flirty and fizzle with conspiratorial mischief as cohorts Rosalind and Celia. The dashing KC Simms wins everyone’s hearts with a nuanced performance as surely the story’s only pure soul, and Gavin Robison expertly navigates Oliver’s character arc with imperious, regal charisma. Pamela D Roberts (Duke Senior/Duke Frederic) and Monica R Harris (Jacques de Boys/Chalres/William) both clearly relish their gender-blind castings and set the stage alight with irresistible charm and riotous energy every time we see them.
Matthew Raetz as Touchstone is a handsome, hilarious whirlwind of camp indignance, aided by an equally engaging Elizabeth Frenchie Faith as Audrey, the two of them stealing each scene that they chaotically tumble into (Frenchie Faith also having an unforgettably dynamic turn as twitching, bro-ey wrestling promoter Le Beau). Annie Gaia’s bimbo-fied Phoebe has the audience in fits while Lynx Murphy underpins the story with assured mastery and sarcastic ennui as the melancholic Jacques. The supporting cast of Nathalie Boyd, Mint Bryan and Chrissy Jacobs are never less than utterly engaging in their various guises, the lusty singalong scenes drawing applause from the wrapt audience. The entire cast’s irrepressible chemistry draws you into the sheer fun they’re having with each other, and every scene becomes a singular joy.
As is the way with rom-coms, even 423 year-old ones, everything works out in the end, and the climax involves the piece-de-resistance of a huge anthropomorphic stag, memorable in its own right. It’s a ridiculously satisfying experience, full of winks to the audience, subtle (and not-so-subtle) physical comedy and heartwarming relationships. It was definitely Shakespeare as I like it (see what I did there?), and, if thou wouldst allow me, my liege, I’ll be so bold as to suggest it will be the same for you. In short: a triumph.
Paul Oswell
AS YOU LIKE IT runs from Thursday 23rd June-Saturday 25th June, tickets here.
Henry IV Part I runs from July 14th to July 30th, tickets here.
