As You Like It, Southwark Playhouse

Shakespeare's classic romantic-comedy is given the musical treatment by the awarding winning team behind Floyd Collins in celebration of the playwright's 450th anniversary year.

Following in the footsteps of the RSC, whose collaboration with songstress Laura Marling produced a festival-like As You Like It last year, now Peter Huntley Productions stage their own musical version. You can see why— the play is perfect fodder for love songs, folk ballads and harmonies. 

The Story...

After a dispute between her father and uncle, Rosalind is exiled from her uncle's lands, accompanied by her cousin the princess and her servant. The women disguise themselves as men and take refuge in the Forest of Arden, where they befriend the shepherds and folk of the country— and come upon Orlando, the man Rosalind has loved from a distance. When he does not recognise her, Rosalind becomes his young tutor in the ways of love. 

This is the play from which the famous 'Seven Ages of Man' speech originates. It also bursts with beautiful lyrics in the many songs Shakespeare included: Blow Thou Winter Wind, What Shall He Have that Killed the Deer, It was a Lover and His Lass and Under the Greenwood Tree. 

The Creatives...

Putting these to music is composer Jude Obermüller, who was also behind the music of Southwark Playhouse's Farragut North with Max Irons. He has reportedly cast a number of actor-musicians in As You Like It. It's directed by Derek Bond, whose musical Floyd Collins at the same theatre earned an Off West End Theatre Award for Best Musical. "Derek Bond’s astonishingly committed production delivers both its dramatic and musical qualities with piercing power and clarity," said The Stage.  

With a spate of Shakespeare at large in London, it can be hard to know what's worth seeing. This particular production has the unique appeal of memorable music. Also, though not specifically for kids, we think that the addition of song to what is already one of the bard's most engaging and accessible plays makes this a charming production for for older children and adults alike.