| All The World's A Stage |
At Mappa Mundi |
| Mappa Mundi- As You Like It , Sherman Theatre, Cardiff , May 9, 2003 |
| As You Like It Sherman Theatre, Cardiff Even before Mappa Mundi’s As You Like It begins, it’s clear tonight’s performance will be far from a traditional Shakespearean showing. A giant screen filled with projected black and white images hanging from the ceiling indicates an updating of the action to the 1950s, not only making the romantic comedy more accessible to the audience but proving, as if proof was needed, that Shakespeare’s themes are no less relevant today than centuries ago. Initially the production does nothing but impress. The opening scene alone features a harmonious chorus of ‘all the world’s a stage’, performers regularly entering from and acting among the audience and a subtle updating of the Bard’s Olde English. It isn’t until some way in that one realises the first scene has been performed with no scenery or props whatsoever, apart from the odd chair – testament to the strength of the acting. The cast of 10 work well together; most notable is the inspired pairing of Lynne Seymour as Rosalind and Anwen Carlisle as Celia. The cousins’ fun, flirty nature and unity in the face of turmoil is a delight to watch and contrasts with the more serious male-dominated scenes. The relationship between them seems genuine rather than staged. However, at times the company undoes its good work by taking its creativeness too far. Just like those pointless conversations which seem hilarious at the time but when relayed to others noticeably aren’t, there are parts of tonight’s performance which appear to have lost all sense of perspective and reek of self-indulgence. I’m sure the mock-fight scene between Orlando and Oliver was amusing in rehearsals, as cast members – the original Mappa Mundi team reunited – egged each other on but the sequence is too long and comes across as gratuitous. Equally, the Cockney accent of Touchstone the clown (Tony Wadham) soon begins to grate as it becomes harder and harder to understand what he is saying. The use of well-known song lyrics, such as Robbie Williams’ Angels, as the poems Celia and Rosalind discover in the woods is momentarily funny but five songs on one can’t help but feel the company have gone overboard by rehashing something we all saw in Moulin Rouge until it becomes boring. That aside, this is an innovative and entertaining production from one of Cardiff’s most respected theatre companies. This review was first published in The Big Issue Cymru |
Reviewed by: Cathryn Scott |
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