"As You Like it"

In a period during which a play previously staged very traditionally was represented in a variety of original ways, Robert Smallwood looks at what we could call the 'Seven Ages of As You Like It' by considering just what directors, designers and actors did differently to make their vision original. How are the environments of the court and the Forest of Arden presented; bleak and chilling or welcoming and celebratory? What does each actress bring to the crucial role of Rosalind that will help show the journey from her relationship with Celia to that with Orlando? How are the anti-romantic Touchstone and Jaques portrayed? How successfully is Hymen, the god of marriage, brought to the stage? This engaging volume celebrates the rich performance history of an always popular play. In a period during which a play previously staged very traditionally was represented in a variety of original ways, Robert Smallwood looks at what we could call the 'Seven Ages of As You Like It' by considering just what directors, designers and actors did differently to make their vision original. How are the environments of the court and the Forest of Arden presented; bleak and chilling or welcoming and celebratory? What does each actress bring to the crucial role of Rosalind that will help show the journey from her relationship with Celia to that with Orlando? How are the anti-romantic Touchstone and Jaques portrayed? How successfully is Hymen, the god of marriage, brought to the stage? This engaging volume celebrates the rich performance history of an always popular play.