St Paul’s in Covent Garden, often known simply as the Actors’ Church, is an atmospheric venue, and As You Like It seems well suited to being staged there as a promenade piece. But while Inigo Jones’s landmark building and the verdant gardens behind it are a delight, this summer’s erratic weather poses unwelcome challenges.
Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy pulses with literary references and (to an Elizabethan) topical ones. It has lost a lot of its resonance since 1599.
This production by Iris Theatre sensibly offers a very broad interpretation of the humour, and director Daniel Winder marshals a committed cast with a nicely dynamic touch. This isn’t the most polished account of a play that combines escapism with self-conscious stylishness, yet it’s likeable, and Tessa Battisti’s design has some really charming elements.
Joe Forte is a gym-built, passionate Orlando, while Diana Kashlan as the wily jester Touchstone is exuberant (at times disturbingly so). There’s decent support from William Reay, Christopher Rowland and Matthew Mellalieu but the star is Emily Tucker. Vigorous and flirty as the heroine Rosalind, she exudes a vivacious energy that suggests we could and should see more of her.
As You Like It runs until August 4 (020 7836 5221).
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