The cast of Josie Rourke’s As You Like It put on a captivating performance that had the audience in fits of giggles. The elements of music that were incorporated and a contemporary twist portrayed the director’s unique stance on Shakespeare’s popular comedy. What particularly entranced me was the impressive diversity that the cast held, and the inclusivity measures that were taken. 

 

The play is opened by a pianist (Michael Bruce), who solo accompanies the entire play. Music features are not uncommon in interpretations of Shakespearean plays, but I have never seen a solo pianist be featured on stage with the rest of the actors. The music only magnified the comedic elements of the play, with the actors interacting with the piano and the pianist at times. This was a wonderful touch and certainly enticed chuckles from the audience. The actors all put on impressive performances, I was especially captivated by May Malone as ‘Phoebe’ who portrayed her character with modern charisma. 

There were subtitles on screens placed high at all four sides of the stage (the audience occupied the entire circumference of the stage). I was impressed by this level of inclusivity that this smaller theatre was able to achieve, when cinemas of the same size require specific equipment and pre-planning on the viewer’s part for subtitles to be accessed. A few of the actors (Rose Ayling-Ellis, Gabriella Leon and Syakira Moeladi and more) are seen to be using British Sign Language which was a revolutionary addition. The cast also consists of four openly trans actors, with all the actors’ pronouns on display next to their names on any cast list available provided by the venue. This progressiveness truly impressed me and I look forward to more companies adopting this policy in the future.