As You Like It – Globe Theatre, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)
A review of As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe. My first time as a groundling in many years, and certainly since the pandemic. I’m getting too old for this…
A Late Summer Trip To The Globe
I have made the most of the reopening season at the Globe; as well as a guided tour, I’ve seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest and enjoyed it all. Today’s review is of As You Like It, by the same ‘Globe on Tour’ company who performed The Tempest. There is more on offer at Shakespeare’s Globe besides, but I think I’ve done a pretty good sampling.
I’ve also been sampling the seating. Years ago, I was in the habit of buying £5 ‘groundling’ tickets for the Globe. A groundling was a person in an Early Modern theatre who paid the cheapest price, and stood in the centre of the theatre rather than having a more genteel seat. They were packed in tight, and very raucous. On our guided tour back in April we learned some of the ways that the groundlings were smelly, loud and mischievous.
Shakespeare’s Globe has continued (a cleaner version of) this tradition by continuing to have these very low priced tickets, ensuring their plays are accessible to all. Or at least all who can stand comfortably for the duration. They aren’t quite back to full capacity, but standing is now back. The last time I did this I was in my 20s, and even then I was a fidgety groundling. I am too old now and have learned my lesson, so will be buying proper seats from now on. The bonus with that is that you don’t get rained on either in the inclement London weather!
So forgive me: the first 20 minutes of the play were a bit of a blur, until I found a comfortable spot and managed to concentrate. At least I gave the groundling experience another try!
As You Like It
As this is another Globe on Tour production, there are a lot of similarities with The Tempest. The same actors, for a start! And the same pared-back production, with very few props, simple costumes for the most part, and most actors playing a number of roles each. As a result, you need to focus on the language, and use your imagination to fill in the setting.
One thing I was discussing with my partner after As You Like It is the way that productions like these don’t take themselves too seriously. This is a definite strength of the Globe on Tour offering; the comedies are funny and silly and bawdy, just like Shakespeare would have wanted. A particular highlight for me in As You Like It were the subplots of romances between Touchstone (Katy Secombe) and Audrey (Mark Desebrock) and Silvius (Desebrock) and Phoebe (Secombe). The multiple roles with gender reversals were hilarious (particularly Desebrock as Audrey) and had the audience in stitches. There were other times when I got a bit confused between the various characters an actor was playing (Sara Lessore’s various Dukes, for instance), but I probably just needed to concentrate more.
I don’t think I had seen As You Like It performed before but, like most of Shakespeare, it’s quite familiar anyway. This production is a really good ensemble effort, slightly edited from the original text but with musical numbers to make up for it. I would love the opportunity to see Globe On Tour productions in a smaller setting in future seasons, but a few days remain for those who wish to see it at the Globe. And only £5 if you are better than I am at standing still and not fidgeting!
Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5
As You Like It on until 29 August 2021
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I can imagine how hard it is to stand for so long! It sounds like a fun theatre experience though.
To be fair I was being a bit dramatic… The volunteer ushers, many of whom were older than me, seemed to be managing fine. But the life of a groundling is not everyone’s cup of tea!