Theatre
As You Like It (Stratford) Man, Beast and Virtue (Cottesloe)
Harmless fun
Christopher Edwards
0 nce Rosalind finds the verses pinned to the tree, life in Arden invariably starts to soften. By this stage the play's humour and enchantment are allowed to breathe — excepting, always, the presence of Jaques. But, these days, the two acts and more that come first — the flight from the court, the 'shrewd days and nights' that make up Arden's early and far from cosy greeting to the fugitives — all this action seems to demand some original or eccentric signa- ture from the director faced (especially at the RSC) with yet another obligatorY revival. At the Old Vic earlier this year we were pitched straight into the inner city in
scene one (the text describes it as an orchard). In that production the director made himself felt all right, at a cost. The air was heavy with urban unease and impending violence, but much of the play's charm was sacrificed in the interests of Pointing out for us just how precarious the balance is between the rejuvenating happi- ness of Arden and the bleak reality waiting for the characters outside. In this revival by the RSC, John Caird makes a few, solemn and not particularly convincing nods in a similar direction, before remembering that in Stratford the RSC plays to the gallery.
So there is much boisterous fun from Rosalind (Sophie Thompson), Celia (Gil- lian Bevan) and an excellent, inventive Touchstone (Mark Williams). This actor manages the heroic feat of remaining amusing despite having to play around with that tired old RSC appliance, the red Plastic nose. Where has John Caird been these last four or five years if he thinks there is any life left in these vaudeville/ Clown routines? Still, the director's heart is in entertainment and he does a pretty good job, vide the excellent wrestling match between (in the blue corner) Charles, the boo-hiss baddie in a leopard-skin leotard, and (in the red corner) the clean-limbed hero Orlando. Playing the scene as Satur- day afternoon television may not be origin- al but it is funny. This is not to deny that the production does try to be a bit grown- up and 'relevant' by surrounding the wick- ed Duke Frederick with dinner-jacketed, gum-chewing, revolver-toting heavies who pop up in the auditorium and shine torches into the audience when hunting for Rosa- lind et al. And we even have the good Duke Senior leading his men out of the sewers into Arden, like a gang of hunted dissidents. But it is all perfectly sweet and harmless really.
Sophie Thompson is a natural comedien- ne, with great presence and a huge voice Packed into her tiny frame. Her Rosalind wants to laugh, send people up and take the mickey. This is one of the most spritely Rosalinds for ages. Where I thought it failed was in its lack of restraint. The director has allowed or encouraged a great deal of schoolgirlish gushing and larking about between her and Celia, where you might wish for exactly the opposite — Poise, grace and wit, for instance. There is certainly poise in Hugh Ross's disdainful, melancholic Jaques as he stalks elegantly through Arden in greatcoat and fedora. It says much about this actor's authority, but also something about the production's limitations, that you find yourself prefer- ring his company to that of most of the other occupants of Arden.
Charles Wood's adaptation of Man, Beast and Virtue by Pirandello (1919) does its level best with a not especially funny work. It relies completely on one idea: can Captain Perella (Terence Rigby) be per- suaded to sleep with his dippy wife (Ma- rion Bailey) just once when he is home on
leave from his ship in order to conceal the fact that she is two months pregnant by her personal tutor, Paolino (Trevor Eve)? The production (directed by William Gaskill) is noisy and energetic but has not, at least at this stage, shaken off a stiffness which I suspect is inherent in the work itself.
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