To put it lightly, 'As You Like It' is not one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. Consider it one of his weakest actually. It's not the language and text that's the problem, Shakespeare's unrivalled mastery of language and text can be seen in even his lesser work. The problem is the too thin and absurd story with a silly and randomly introduced ending, just about kept afloat by Shakespeare's prose and nice characters. It is still pleasant enough and has wit and charm.
Although this production of 'As You Like It' evoked something of a mixed reaction, to me while with its flaws it is like the virtues of the play, it is a pleasant watch once it gets going, it is witty without being overdone and charming without being sugary. It is not one of the best National Theatre Live Shakespeare productions, but if you are not familiar with 'As You Like It' beforehand but want to get to know it more this is not a too bad place to start.
It did for my tastes get off to a not so good start. Really did not like the dreary look of the earlier office-like scenes, which was unnecessary and the drama was pretty dull and cold. The acting is not of an even quality all the way through (mostly though it was fine), did for my tastes find Mark Benton annoying as Touchstone and that he didn't gel with the setting.
Not much is done making the problematic ending of the play more believable, it still comes out of nowhere and manages to go overboard with the silliness (felt the same about the imitating sheep touch).
However, once the production got going there was a huge amount to enjoy. Once we get to the forest setting, which is a very strikingly designed one and the transformation into it was deftly handled and one of the production's highlights. The photography is intimate and not static, not being too expansive and not resorting to gimmick. The music is occasionally intrusive but on the most part it adds a lot to the atmosphere, the use of song beautifully done, and the use of sound is some of the best and most authentic of the NTL Shakespeare performances.
Shakespeare's text is still masterful and the character interaction is witty and charming, especially the truly delightful one being Rosalind and Celia (another one of this 'As You Like It's' biggest pleasures). The stage direction didn't start off promising but it is spirited and uplifting, while non-traditional there is not much after the start of gratuitous distaste or gimmicks. The comedy is genuinely funny and it didn't leave me cold emotionally.
Benton aside, the performances are fine. While Rosalind Craig is a suitably poised Rosalind, the best performances for me came from Patsy Ferran, who is just so endearing and a joy to watch, and Paul Chahidi's sometimes touching but also pompous Jaques (most evident in the Seven Ages of Man speech).
In a nutshell, pleasant and entertaining enough that is worth sticking with despite the deceptively shaky start but didn't bowl me over. 7/10
