THE FESTIVAL Players made a welcome return to Bromsgrove with As You Like It, as it would have been done in Shakespearean times.
The historic St John’s Church once again provided the perfect backdrop for the performance which was witty throughout and fast paced. That was aided by the simplistic single set which enabled the characters to get on and off with great ease and meant no gaps during the action. Literally as one character exited the stage, another one entered.
Another good aspect of the church setting was that the production began in natural daylight and came to its conclusion as darkness fell, seemingly bringing a natural end to the show.
It was put on by a hugely talented six-man cast – playing 16 characters between them – and an acoustic guitar which was used to great effect. Mark Spriggs was tremendous as Touchstone, the jester, strumming away as the songs were sang which added to the atmosphere, ambiance and comedy of the piece.
It was hard to pick out star performers as all members worked well together, but Benjamin Way was excellent as Rosalind and, likewise, Tyler Coombes as her cousin Celia. And, as they giggled away like embarrassed adolescents, the chemistry between the two, along with their mannerisms and facial expressions were impeccable, giving the impression their characters had been lifelong friends as well as relatives and knew each other inside out. They also showed their versatility, doubling up as William and Amien, respectively.
Paul Giles also put in a class performance as Orlando, particularly in the second act when his other character Phebe was on stage with her husband-to-be Silvius one minute and then, after exiting, entered again in seconds as Orlando, directing a knowing look to the audience.
The best scenes included Oliver telling Rosalind – masquerading as Ganymede – about Orlando being wounded in a lion attack, almost leading to her coming clean about her disguise and the interactions between the lovers – Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Touchstone and Audrey and Phebe and William which provided plenty of hilarity among the audience.
The most famous line in As You Like It is – ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’, but the Festival cast members were a lot more than ‘merely players’ – they were stars of the St John’s stage.
