The hilarious Brian Linds and Fran Gebhard in As You Like It

Credit: Tim Matheson

Into the Woods

There’s much ado about As You Like It

A collective sigh of relief and a heartfelt “bravo” swept across the city last week with the opening of fledgling professional company Blue Bridge Theatre’s inaugural production, As You Like It, which more than lived up to its expectations of quality with its debut at the Mac. The first of three shows in their summer season, Shakespeare’s romantic forest retreat is well worth catching.

Never one of my personal faves (the two acts almost seem like two different shows), As You Like It remains a charming and easily understood classic that blends a few of Shakespeare’s favourite concepts (gender switching, forest dwelling, clashing brothers) into a story that’s really just a whole lot of fun. The first act is all clash and strife, wherein the various conflicts are established and the principal characters run to the woods: an angry duke seizes power from his brother, a nice duke (Scott Walker, in a double role); an angry older brother (Brian Culp) forces the exile of his nice younger brother (Jay Hindle); a wronged lady (Courtney Lancaster) and her cousin (Sarah Donald) flee unjust persecution . . . you get the idea. Love blooms and much hilarity ensues in the second act, with all the conflicts being resolved so quickly that it would undoubtedly earn Will some critical rebuke today.

A solid and enthusiastic mix of professional and student talent make this a treat to watch, with clear standouts being Hindle and Lancaster’s romantic jousting in the second act, Brian Linds’ wonderful turn as the jester Touchstone (a role that can’t help but live on in local memory), plus Fran Gebhard and Rielle Braid as a pair of comic country ladies.

Veteran Shakespearean director Jeannette Lambermont-Morey brings some Stratford elegance to this highly theatrical production, where the entire cast is seated in a ring around the stage, entering and exiting merely by rising and stepping forward (but woe to those like the admirable John Krich, who only has a handful of lines early on and then must sit and watch it all play out). It’s a clever concept that mostly works, although at times I felt a strange sense of disconnection as an audience member watching the cast watching the show; my companion, however, found it fresh and fascinating. Either way, it’s great to see the Mac’s large stage so fully filled.

Roundly excellent design work by Patrick DuWors (set, costumes), Giles Hogya (lighting) and Yan Li (music) make this a minimalist masterpiece, echoing the simplicity of the original staging and engaging the audience’s imagination; the cast provide both the musical accompaniment and sound effects, while the relatively stark design spectrum looks old without hearkening to any specific period.

Despite its 400-year pedigree, this production of As You Like It lives up to Blue Bridge’s “fresh classics” slogan and bodes well for upcoming shows Death of a Salesman and The Fantasticks. Any theatre fan would do well to book seats for both the remainder of this run and the rest of the season.

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As You Like It
To June 21
McPherson Playhouse, Centennial Square
Tickets $26.50-$47.50
250-386-6121