We round up the reviews for the new production directed by Daniel Evans.
The Guardian: ” The comedy is light and frothy on the whole. Gary Wilmot, who is both Duke Frederick and the exiled Duke Senior, never overplays his lines. A fantastically prim Phoebe (Tim Preston) brings a kind of librarian comedy with her disdain for the shepherd, Silvius (Edward Judge), and her love-at-first-sight for Ganymede whose brute, masculine scolding seduces her. The ribald romance between Touchstone (Greg Haiste) and Audrey (Gareth Snook) is played for music-hall laughs, the latter is flamboyantly big-haired and archly bawdy, little short of a pantomime dame.”
Stage Talk Magazine: “The broadly comic characters in Arden are all well-realised in a production that plays close attention to the text. Among many in the cast making their RSC debut, Rhys Parry Jones is the ‘true labourer’ Corin as well as a rather butch Hymen while Tim Phoebe provides a prim and proper Phoebe.”
WhatsOnStage: “The play has been cut in places to move it along and there are some losses. But this is a subtle and lively version of one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, full of light, laughter and love.”
The Telegraph: “In the latest example of RSC’s obsession with gender-flipped casting, Frozen and Hamilton actor Jonathan Groff makes his Shakespeare debut.”
All That Dazzles: “In avoiding making it into a gimmick, Evans doesn’t draw out extra laughs from the gender-swapping. After all, he directs the rest of the play so deftly that the comedy simply speaks for itself. But he also makes space for genuinely heartfelt moments, where true love takes shape and authentic connections form on stage. Partnered perfectly with Jamieson’s gorgeous chorales and folk songs, the result is a work of genius, sublime from start to finish and sparkling with joy.”
Beyond The Curtain: “Daniel Evans’ decision to direct an all-male cast pays brilliant dividends, echoing Shakespearean tradition while leaning boldly into the story’s modern themes: that love is love, no matter where—or upon whom—it falls. Fisayo Akinade is an absolute triumph as Celia, bringing flawless comedic timing and a grounded, devoted warmth that provides the perfect foil to Groff’s Ganymede.”
West End Best Friend: “What Evans has created is near on theatrical perfection. As You Like It is so much more than just a Shakespearian comedy. This all-male production harnesses Shakespeare’s fascination with performance, identity and gender, transforming the play’s already intricate layers of disguise into its core. The result is a thoughtful and visually engaging staging that captures both the joy and the uncertainty at the heart of the forest world, making Shakespeare’s exploration of love and selfhood feel strikingly modern.”
The Stage: “Lively, sweet-natured all-male production of Shakespeare’s unashamedly contrived comedy.”
The FT: “The RSC staging in Stratford-upon-Avon is packed with wonderful performances and brings a different slant to the question of identity.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.rsc.org.uk/as-you-like-it/