Review: RSC's As You Like It charms and frustrates on Stratford stage

It is a premise with some promise.

The idea is that As You Like It is being performed in a rehearsal room at a reunion of actors who staged it 25 years ago. The cast is thus a fair bit older than is usually the case at the RSC, and is led by the 72-year-old Geraldine James.

Unlike some of the Big Ideas that have infected productions on this stage, at least this one has some kinship with the text. As You Like It is in part about theatre and ageing, and has some of Shakespeare’s best-known musings on such matters: “All the world’s a stage,” leading into the seven ages of man. The rigidity of the royal court contrasts with the playfulness of the forest, where creativity is abundant if sometimes misguided, and where the ways of nature bring hope of renewal.

Yet while it seems perpetually to be on the verge of greatness, the production never quite gets there. The concept feels about to crack open in revelatory ways, with explosive collisions of memory and dream and reality. But despite the efforts of the cast and the occasional imaginative flourish, that wondrous potential remains unfulfilled.

The story revolves around Rosalind, who is banished from court and disguises herself as a man. She and her cousin Celia seek refuge in the Forest of Arden. There, Rosalind encounters Orlando; she cannot reveal her true identity to him, which is a problem, because she happens to be madly in love with him.

The production has much charm. James is a captivating and radiant Rosalind, while James Hayes as the fool Touchstone shows himself to be a natural comedian, wry and rueful amid the absurdity. And great credit is due to Christopher Saul, who had to step in at short notice as Jaques; he gets the play’s big speech and appears to feel every word, although in his desire to sound natural is a tad quiet.

But its unique selling point is also its limiting factor. These are actors playing the parts of actors playing the parts in the play, and sometimes it feels as though these layers have been thought through insufficiently: in this case, a more mannered style of performance might have helped distinguish one from another. There is also a suspicion that rehearsal rooms are more interesting to theatre people than they are to the rest of us.

And the programme notes reinforce this slight impression of self-indulgence. “We wanted to cut a substantial amount of the script,” they say. “There are some changes in the narrative of the original text that felt essential.” To which one suspects the response of many readers will be: Yikes.

The result is a production that seems a little myopic and, consequently, unfinished. That is not necessarily a problem: “What we didn't want to do was forcibly prescribe logic to the play,” say the notes, laudably. And as the play suggests, exploration can be as important as discovery. But as enjoyable as it is, it feels like a missed opportunity. It’s as they like it, but perhaps not as you like it.

Until August 5. See rsc.org.uk to book.