Shakespeare comes to @shohplace with this all-singing, all-signing As You Like It
For a new theatre like @sohoplace, the first handful of productions are foundational. They form an idea in the mind of audiences about what kind of place this is, and who it’s for.
Last month’s Marvellous, a low-fi biopic of Staffordshire clown Neil “Nello” Baldwin, seemed a little leftfield but was a shrewd choice, having already premiered well at NewcastleUnder-Lyme’s New Vic and being a cheap date in terms of staging.
Next up is As You Like It – so what does that say? Shakespeare says Serious Theatre, but it’s one of the goofier comedies, so it also says “not too serious”.
Perhaps crucially, it provides plenty of scope to showcase the inclusivity that @sohoplace has laid as one of its core principles. Shakespeare’s gender-switching characters, for instance, give mercurial director Josie Rourke a route to explore modern-day gender issues, with trans and non-binary actors cast in key roles, including Leah Harvey as Rosalind, lending fresh meaning to the already fraught relationships in this love-lorn play.
The highlight of the production, though, is the wonderful Rose Ayling-Ellis, a deaf actor whose character speaks using a hybrid form of sign language translated especially for the show (the text is shown on four screens ringing the stage).
What a monumental task it must have been to translate not only the words and concepts but the language and emotion of Shakespearian prose; even to a non-signer, Ayling-Ellis’ performance, brimming with energy and charisma, captures an aspect of Shakespeare I’d never seen before. The only time she speaks verbally is when her father banishes Rosalind, refusing to hear his daughter’s pleas – the jarring outburst of sound and emotion is heartbreaking.
It helps that Ayling-Ellis has wonderful chemistry with Harvey. The pair converse in sign, giving them a secret language, and at times their romance feels more tender and real than those with the male love interests.
The production also borders on being a musical, not entirely surprising given this is Shakespeare’s most song-filled comedy, but Rourke really leans into it. An onstage piano is the anchor for the entire production, setting the tone and providing much of the humour, such as when characters break the fourth wall to remonstrate with the pianist for not playing to their liking.
If that all sounds like a lot – well, it is. Between the music and the songs and the signing, there’s a lot to keep track of and the simple beauty of the prose – much changed here even when spoken – is largely lost. There are no performances that you would call anything close to subtle and at times it feels like a group of distinct vaudeville sketches rather than a coherent whole.
Still, it’s all extremely nice and earnest and sincere, and it would take a cold heart not to warm to this troupe, who are clearly having an absolute blast. Next up for @sohoplace is Medea (more Serious Theatre) – it’ll be fascinating to see how this fledgling institution approaches a classic of an altogether different nature.