As You Like It

Review by Lizzie

Show: Canopy Theatre present As You Like It
Written By: William Shakespeare
Director: Lada Darewych
Where: Philosopher’s Stage at Philosopher’s Walk, U of T
When: July 16- August 2
Players: Kristina Stanclik – Rosalind, Tyrone Savage – Orlando, Evelyn Wiseman – Celia, Cameron Johnson – Touchstone, Anthony Reid- Jacques

In A Nutshell: It’s Shakespeare so you know the deal. Kooky cross-dressing, usurping dukes, exile to a forest, euphemistic wordplay galore, tangled love affairs, and a giant wedding finale that’d make Sun Myung Moon proud. Plus, it's outside, so you can pick at grass and listent to the twittering of birds.

Highlights: The wrestling match between Orlando and Charles is Fight Club worthy. Evelyn Wiseman, who plays Celia, is a charismatic delight on the stage. I last saw her in the Hart House production of Criminal Minds, and once again she thrills the audience with her firecracker energy. The guitar playing numbers were a welcome, jolly touch. Definitely, the biggest laugh arose when a squirrel frantically ran across the stage. I also enjoyed the two adorable toddlers sitting in the front row who didn’t make a peep throughout the whole show. Half the fun of an outdoor play is audience gazing, right?

Annoying Qualities: When packing up my picnic at the end of the show I realized that hundreds, nay, thousands of ants were devouring my prosciutto. Afterwards, I suffered nightmares where I kept waking up all itchy, convinced that the ants had invaded my bed.

Memorable Quote: “I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it.” This line cracks me up, oh William, no wonder people call you a genius
Made Me Feel: Slightly self-righteous. Years of taking Shakespeare at school has had the effect of internalizing an association in me between attending to The Bard and the feeling of, “oh what a good girl am I.”

You will like this show if you like: Dream in High Park, and nibbles of hummus dipped pita paired with theatre.

Verdict: Everything’s better in the outdoors. Drinking, sex, Shakespeare. For those of us who are no longer students, it’s pleasant to play academic for a night: sitting in the gorgeous setting of U of T, analyzing the director’s choices. The play did feel a bit amateur at times, especially whenever the ensemble silently pretended to chat to each other in the background of scenes, but that was part of its charm.

Go See This Show With: Anyone with a folding camping seat to spare.