As You Like It (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (18)
See it if the idea of a very gender-bending, trans & non-binary friendly Shakespeare comedy is enough reason for you to see a show. It is fun at times
Don't see it if you want all actors to speak Shakespeare's lines in a clear, comprehensible way. Lots of mush mouth here. And some hideous costumes!
See it if you'd enjoy an modern take on the classic love story with unexpected added elements that makes this version in the globe one-of-its-kind.
Don't see it if you can't quite sit (or stand) through Shakespeare-as-written, though there's plenty to see if you do struggle with the words.
See it if A wonderful, queer, gender-bending reinterpretation of a show about gender-bending. An incredible experience to see it at the Globe.
Don't see it if The only reason not to see it would be if you can't stand up for the duration of the show, or find the seats too uncomfortable.
See it if you are a fan of Shakespeare
Don't see it if you are looking for something more dynamic
See it if You like inspiring stories. Great singing and acting
Don't see it if There are no reasons no to see it
See it if you like modern takes on classics
Don't see it if you want the classic story without a modern take
See it if You want to see a happier Shakespeare show!
Don't see it if You like darker, gorier shows.
See it if you appreciate good staging (incl. stalls) in the Globe, accessible Shakespearean experience, just the right amount of audience interaction
Don't see it if you want a pure Shakespeare experience - modern songs woven in (a bit questionable I'd say), costumes were quite jarring and looked cheap
Critic Reviews (10)
“The project is definitely aimed at a younger, progressive crowd and will most probably anger a specific portion of theatregoers. It’s an interesting spin on a beloved story and, while the execution is a bit wobbly here and there, we can see the vision behind it.”
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“Director Ellen McDougall’s production of Shakespeare’s pastoral romance brings a much-needed infusion of warmth to this lacklustre summer...The Globe’s now-habitual gender-fluid approach to casting chimes perfectly with this story of disguise and confusion: we might be experiencing the same kind of mind-expanding uncertainty Shakespeare’s original audience felt.”
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“It’s fun! Lots of fun! ‘As You Like It’ is a play that can leave audiences lost in the woods if it’s not done right, but I emerged from these forests with a veritable bounce in my step.”
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“Right from the first moments of her production of Shakespeare’s pastoral rom-com it’s clear that Ellen McDougall is out to do things differently...this ‘As You Like It’ has a purposeful sense of fun that gets the job done.”
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“It’s no revelation that fluidity around gender and sexuality is a prominent feature of Shakespeare’s comedies. So this production by Ellen McDougall, in overtly queering his tale of pastoral romance in the Forest of Arden, playfully tickles the text rather than radically subverting it...Tripping by, this is a staging that never quite clutches the heart; but it’s a beguiling late-summer fling.”
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“Ellen McDougall’s joyfully queer Globe production of ‘As You Like It,’ Shakespeare’s bucolic comedy with its tangled array of gender identities, is boisterous and warm-hearted, if somewhat over-busy and something of a curate’s egg in terms of execution.”
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“It’s not a perfect production...Overall this is an evening of joyous exuberance, a wonderful way of celebrating the last gasp of this year’s summer. Whether or not you choose to wear sequins is up to you – for in this forest, as another writer might have put it, anything goes.”
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“Director Ellen McDougall’s inclusive take on ‘As You Like It’ has a sort of ramshackle innocence and openness to it. The casting is gender neutral and the context is fluid...It all makes for a deeply uneven production; a sense which is only heightened by the largely distracting interpolations of modern text and a series of faltering musical interludes. They are embellishments too far, in a show that starts with gusto but eventually fizzles out, undone by its own invention.”
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