As You Like It: Yup!
Just after watching Thea Sharrockʼs
production of Shakespeareʼs “As You
Like It”, I dug deeper into the vast abyss
of the MUN reserves and came across
Micheal Boydʼs extravagant and darker
staged version. Right away I came to
realize Sharrockʼs production is wittier,
funnier, and ‘sunnierʼ than Boydʼs.
Although Sharrockʼs production of “As
You Like It” does not go into the same
kind of emotional depth that Boydʼs
does, Sharrockʼs production is
magnificently enchanting, and
completely irresistible. Sharrock's
production is full of fantastic felicities—
which is defined as the ability to find
the exact expression for oneʼs thoughts.
Throughout the production, there's an
intense and constant feeling of wit,
mischief and strong sexual attraction. I
think this is where Sharrockʼs version
out-stages that of Boydʼs; as Sharrock
expertly adopts Shakespeares beautiful
way of articulating human experience in
every form by her master use of
characters and The Globe.
The stage was absolutely beautiful; and
it magnified the experience and
atmosphere for me. The Globe's stage
columns have been turned into huge
tree trunks in the forest of Arden; and
Orlando's passionate flow of poetry to
Rosalind rained down on the audience
from the top balcony— making it truly a
spectacle at first glance. But thatʼs not
all, Sharrockʼs work ultimately
challenges the audience philosophically
and emotionally. In this play, summer in
Thames is deliciously whimsical; and at
The Globe, the connection to
Shakespeare from the audience grows
stronger, and with each line resonated
the audience becomes apart of
something bigger.
A really beautiful moment for me while
watching this play was when Jaques
delivers his epic “Seven Ages of Man”
speech, and he begins by saying "All
the world's a stage", I just loved this and
how this line seems to have been
written just for the Globe, and it made
me consider the romantic idea of ‘what
if Shakespeare had wanted his audience
to make the connection between the
name of the theatre and the line the
actor speaks.ʼ Jaques follows these
lines with “And one man in his time
plays many parts,” which envelopes the
audience further, as it gives us almost
an opportunity to connect to the past
world of Shakespeare and his
extravagant boasting of his
accomplishments.
Ther...
