Illyria’s As You Like It at Claremont Farm 6.8.2026

As You Like It begins in a court usurped by Duke Frederick from his brother Duke Senior, who is living in exile with some retainers in a near-mythical Forest of Arden. Senior’s daughter Rosalind has been allowed to remain at court as she is best friends with Frederick’s only child, Celia.

Orlando – son of a deceased ally of Duke Senior’s – has likewise been mistreated by his own brother, Oliver, and seeks to change his fortunes by entering a wrestling match at court. Hearing of this, Oliver tries to harden the will of opposing wrestler Charles to not only beat, but cause severe injury to – or even kill – Orlando.

Having already caught her eye, Orlando’s wrestling victory and his parentage further endear him to Rosalind. The attraction is mutual. 

Perhaps provoked by the appearance of a male heir to an ally of his brother Duke Senior, as well as his wariness of Rosalind’s popularity, Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind from court, and Celia chooses to go with her. They decide to join Duke Senior in the forest, disguising themselves as men for safety.

As Ganymede, Rosalind convinces Orlando that ‘he’ can coach him in how to win Rosalind’s heart by ‘pretending’ to be Rosalind, and enjoys some of the best lines written for a Shakespearean heroine in doing so.

 In Director Oliver Gray’s very capable hands, there is much to enjoy in what follows.

The declamatory style of this production suits the outdoor space, serving as a reminder that some of the theatres Shakespeare wrote for were themselves open to the elements. Indeed, As You Like It may well have been one of the first plays performed at the Globe. Here, the cast are clearly well versed (no pun intended) in the meaning and resonances of the many allusions made in the text, which they largely tackle with an engaging clarity, pace and energy. 

The stage combat is enjoyably cartoonish in places, and the highly amusing depiction of the shepherd’s flock brings Aardman animation to mind (‘Baardman’, anyone?). There were even changes in scenery witty enough to raise a laugh.

Whilst there were many impressive Illyrian touches along the way, there were also one or two unsolved problems, which mean for me at least that – whilst there were flashes of brilliance – the production never fully made the transition from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

Yes, there is the usual playfulness in the doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling of characters; but a cast of five felt just a little too tight. Similarly, whilst the pacing certainly brings an infectious energy to proceedings, I couldn’t help wondering if there might be a few more moments of relative stillness, allowing the full meaning of the text to blossom further; though here, I can’t help wondering if the changeable weather may have mitigated against there being more subtlety. There certainly wasn’t any lack of application from the cast, who at times somehow made it seem like it wasn’t raining on stage at all.

I also wonder if the admirable determination to make this very much Shakespeare’s As You Like It has slightly discouraged Gray from imposing too many Illyrian ideas on the production. Don’t get me wrong, there are many wonderful trademark touches that leave little doubt as to who the company is, and of what they are capable; and when – as is often the case – these touches gel perfectly with the text, the play truly takes wing.


It has to be said, I probably wouldn’t feel like anything was missing at all, were I not already a huge Illyria fan. Indeed, having seen their Twelfth Night a couple of years ago, I know just how well they can bring Shakespeare to life. Perhaps the text of As You Like It presents more of a challenge.

As the Director notes in the programme, it is only when Rosalind cross-dresses as Ganymede, then pretends to pretend to be Rosalind, that she can freely be herself. I can’t help wonder if a similar textual transformation might take this production to even greater heights. Many great Directors have made successful tweaks to the Bard’s works without disrespecting the source, and I’d love to see a more fully Illyrian version of the play.

Given Gray’s incredible ability to enhance our enjoyment of texts from other revered writers (including Jane Austen, Arthur Conan Doyle and Kenneth Graham, to name but a few), I bet the Bard would approve.