James Karas
As
You Like It by
William Shakespeare
Directed
by Jillian Keiley
Rosalind Petrina
Bromley
Celia
Trish Lindstrom
Hymen
Robin Hutton
Orlando Cyrus Lane
Duchess
Senior Brigit Wilson
Jaques
Seana McKenna
Duke
Frederick Scott Wentworth
Touchstone Sanjay Talwar
Continues
in
repertory at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario
until
October 22, 2016. www.starfordfestival.ca
** (out of five)
The Stratford Festival offers an unforgettable production of As
You Like It directed by Jillian Keiley.
You have heard of a play by William Shakespeare bearing that title and
this production does have some similarities with it. For the rest it is an
adaptation, a deviation, a brutalization and an ego trip for the director.
Keiley sets the play in Newfoundland in 1985 and that is acceptable. As
you enter the theatre, you are presented with a loot bag containing a branch, a
hat, a clothes pin, a fan and … isn’t that enough? A loud and lively woman is
leading the cast into square dancing and whooping it up before the lights go
down for the performance.
Members of the company in As You Like It. Photography by
David Hou.
The loud lady tells us she is Hymen (Robin Hutton), the god of marriage
and, as it turns out, she will be with us throughout the performance as a
Chorus, Master of Ceremonies, Cheerleader and General Nuisance. Shakespeare
forgot to include her in his play but
the omission was almost certainly accidental.
To the loot bag. As You Like It
takes place mostly in the Forest of Arden. Did you say “forest”? Take the
branch out of your loot bag, hold up straight and presto we have created a
forest. You will be asked to take out your fan and make a wave, put your stupid
hat on and join in a sing-along and …you want more?
Keiley clearly views the theatre as a communal and participatory event
and she wants the audience to be part of the action and not just a bunch of
spectators who rely on the quality of the play or the excellence of the
performance. She is tireless and tiresome in asking us to be part of the
performance.
Shakespeare’s play does sneak through all of Keiley’s self-indulgent
shenanigans and some of his humour comes through. Rosalind (Petrina Bromley)
and Celia (Trish Lindstrom) are excitable young girls who jump for joy and do
high fives. Not exactly Shakespearean but those culture-hungry teenagers may go
crazy watching them. The country bumpkins (Corin (David Collins), Phebe (Ijeoma
Emesowum), Audrey (Deirdre Gillard-Rowlings), Silvius (Jamie Mac) and William
(Antoine Yared) eventually do get a few
laughs based on Shakespeare’s text and despite Keiley’s direction.
Trish Lindström (left) as Celia and Petrina Bromley as
Rosalind inAs You Like It. Photography by David Hou.
Keiley has changed the gender of several characters including that of
the exiled Duke Senior who becomes Duchess Senior (Birgit Wilson) and the usually
male Jaques is played by Seana McKenna. No issue with that except that in the
case of Seana McKenna at least, it is a waste of talent. The fine actors are
lost in the surrounding drivel.
Is the production aimed at the high school students who will flock to
Stratford in the fall? Are they likely to find the adaptation hilarious? Do we
need two productions of the play – one for adults and one for teenagers?
In fairness, I should note that most of the audience enjoyed the latter
part of the performance.
Shakespeare’s play ends with a charming epilogue where Rosalind conjures
us to show our appreciation. Keiley butchers that too by inserting lines from
other plays and improving the play.
That may be the cherry on the cake but it is unnecessary – by that time
we have witnessed something unforgettable.
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