As You Like It - Royal Shakespeare Co. - Nebula Micro Theatre, Benoni
Fri Jul 19, 18:30 - Fri Jul 19, 21:45
Nebula Micro Theatre
ABOUT
AS YOU LIKE IT
Come into the forest; dare to change your state of mind.
Rosalind is banished, wrestling with her heart and her head. With her cousin by her side, she journeys to a world of exile where barriers are broken down and all can discover their deeper selves. Director Kimberley Sykes (Dido, Queen of Carthage) directs a riotous, exhilarating version of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy.
THE PLOT
EXILE IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN
Duke Senior has been forced into exile from the court by the usurping Duke Frederick. He takes refuge in the Forest of Arden with a band of faithful lords. Rosalind, his daughter, is kept uneasily at court as a companion to her cousin Celia, Frederick's daughter.
A WRESTLING MATCH Orlando de Boys, the youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys, has been kept in poverty by his brother Oliver since his father's death. Orlando decides to wrestle for his fortune at Frederick's court, where he sees Rosalind and they fall in love.
BANISHMENT The Duke banishes Rosalind, fearing that she is a threat to his rule. Celia, refusing to be parted from her cousin, goes with Rosalind to seek Duke Ferdinand in the Forest. For safety they disguise themselves - Rosalind as the boy Ganymede and Celia as his sister Aliena - and persuade the fool Touchstone to accompany them. On hearing of a plot by his brother to kill him, Orlando also flees to the Forest and takes refuge with the exiled Duke. Posting love lyrics through the forest, Orlando encounters Rosalind disguised as Ganymede. She challenges his love-sick state and suggests that he should prove the strength of his love by wooing Ganymede as if “he” were Rosalind.
LOVE BLOSSOMS IN THE FOREST Elsewhere in the Forest love also blossoms: the shepherd Silvia suffers unrequited love for Phoebe, who has fallen for Ganymede, while Touchstone is pursuing the goat-herd Audrey. Oliver, sent into the Forest to hunt down Orlando, has his life saved by his brother, becomes filled with remorse for his past behaviour and falls in love with Aliena. Frustrated by the pain of his love for Rosalind, Orlando is unable to continue wooing Ganymede, so Ganymede promises he will conjure up the real Rosalind and that all the lovers will finally be wed...
TWO ACTS
Running time 3h15m
One Interval