Full
Disclosure: I attended this show free of charge in return for agreeing to write
a review of the performance. The review has not been seen by the production
prior to publishing, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Arden Production’s reimagined version of As
You Like It is not your average faithful production. Characters are combined or
compressed. Speeches are passed around and repurposed. Genders are changed, and
sexual orientations updated accordingly. Little is left untouched or unrevised,
and you leave with a very different experience than had you seen, say, the Bell
Shakespeare Company cover the same work.
But this all fits well with the poetry of
Shakespeare. Love is love no matter the identity of those who profess it, and a
promise is a promise, whether you’re Phoebus or Phoebe. Arden have produced a
radical but respectful adaptation, allowing it to explore new issues with
letting his words ring as true as ever.
The opening night (after a preview
performance) was a very solid start to a generous run for the play, the cast in
top form, with impeccable live music and a tight technical ship that produced
no visible errors.
Being played in a former church hall, the
actors perform a stylised and abstract rendition of the play in the centre of
the audience’s circle of chairs. An actor might leave in one direction before
suddenly emerging from another, speaking lines in a way that clearly indicates
they are not truly part of the scene but rather reflecting on it. Two
performers finish their speeches before undertaking a serious of almost dance
like movements as the music builds around them, before they and the guitar fall
silent.
The actors are to be commended for their
performance, some taking on wildly different characters as the play
transitioned from A Duchess’ court in the first act to a forest in the second.
No actual changes to the set occur apart from the addition of a couple of
stumps, and yet the locations and mood are clear.
While I thought all the performers were
equally skilled, I wanted to especially mention an actor who took over from
another only a week before opening. The director informed us that he would be
prompting if needed before the play began, and it is a credit to the actor that
aside from one or two polite requests for his line, we otherwise could not tell
that this was relatively new material for him.
The music is also a particular highlight, composed
especially for this production and played live with the guitar on the composer’s
lap, the stings and body of the guitar all serving as instrument for a surreal
score that perfectly fits the non-naturalistic performance.
It must be mentioned that your experience
of the play might be somewhat affected by where you choose to sit. Sitting in a
circle around the stage does give you a wonderfully intimate and varied view of
the proceedings, but by its very nature means you sometimes will have nothing
to look at but the back of a performer’s head (or if you’re particularly
unlucky, squinting to see through a light pointing right at you).
But as long as you choose your seat with
care, (preferably somewhere where you can also spot the guitar playing, just
don’t get too distracted watching it and miss the whole play) you can expect a thought-provoking play
performed by a cast that quite clearly know what they’re saying and respect the
play they’re doing. I definitely recommend it; you won’t be disappointed.
As
You Like It Reimagined runs until October 4th at the Bluestone Church Arts Space in Footscray. Tickets and more
information can be found at http://www.ardenproductions.com.au/as-you-like-it/ever-wanted-to-be-somebody-youre-not/
and https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/a700f9c0-1cb7-4ef9-a220-ca0ed75d513c
