AS YOU LIKE IT Selfie from Jessie G.

On Tuesday, July 22, I set out to experience The Oxford Shakespeare Company’s production of As You Like It (by William Shakespeare, of course) at Wadham College Oxford. I was initially attracted to this production because of the unique theatre space being used; I was excited to experience one of Shakespeare’s brilliant comedies in such a beautiful setting. The play began with the audience sitting on blankets in the grass, which is not typically what one envisions when they imagine going to the theatre. After a while the players instructed us to move across the courtyard where chairs had been set up in a semi-circle to enjoy the rest of the performance. I found it interesting that the audience was seated in the grass for Act I, during which the action takes place in and around the Duke’s palace, a setting the characters were familiar and comfortable with, yet for Act II, we were seated in chairs, a setting that felt much more natural for experiencing theatre, however the characters had entered the Forest of Arden, a setting that completely stripped them of the comforts of society that they are used to. This paradox left me preoccupied with ideas of societal comfort and setting throughout the remainder of the play. I left the “theatre” thinking that the Forest of Arden represented an escape for the characters in more than just the physical aspect, also serving as an area for transformation and self-discovery.

 In the Forest of Arden, both Rosalind (Rebecca Tanwen) and Oliver (Alexander McWilliam) have a chance to reinvent themselves. Rosalind, having escaped the unethical society of court, enters the Forest of Arden as a place where she is free to be herself. Rosalind renames herself Ganymede and chooses the identity of a strong male in an attempt to shed her identity as the daughter of Duke Senior. Underneath her disguise, however, she clings to her femininity. Even in her masculine costume, Rosalind proclaims that she can, "cry like a woman.” Oliver is initially presented as a wicked character for denying his brother the right to an education. When the Duke orders him to go into Arden and find Orlando (David Alwyn) he has the chance to redeem himself. When he meets Rosalind and Celia (Charlotte Hamblin) he introduces himself by saying, "I do not shame / To tell you what I was, since my conversion / So sweetly tastes, being the thing that I am.” Now that Oliver has removed himself from the daily pressures of court life, he has the opportunity to judge his own character and redeem himself as a genuine person. However, Oliver's redemption fulfills the Duke's order, ultimately making Oliver appear more suited for court life. The Forest of Arden is not truly an escape from society for either Rosalind or Oliver, but rather a sanctuary where they are finally able to act freely, and therefore learn about themselves, eventually returning to society with a new understanding of their individual identities. This idea was reflected in the decision to stage the play outside; being outdoors provided a sense of liberation that was felt by both the characters and the audience. It was interesting that the audience moved from blankets to chairs when the characters did the opposite and relocated from comfort to the unknown, yet personally I felt this paradox made the transitions that much more effective.

Seeing Shakespeare’s As You Like It in Wadham College’s beautiful gardens really was a unique and interesting theatrical experience. I’ve seen Shakespeare scenes on location before but I had never experienced a full performance outdoors. Being outside made the characters journey through the Forest of Arden that much more realistic and thought provoking. I actually preferred sitting on blankets in the grass to sitting in chairs; it was much more comfortable and made the experience very relaxing. Although it felt unconventional it was a positive change for me and I felt as though it mirrored the positive changes the characters underwent as they journeyed through the Forest of Arden.

In the Forest of Arden the characters are physically removed from society, thus they are also removed from the economic, political, and gender roles that govern them in their everyday lives. Initially, The Forest of Arden feels like a sanctuary, where the characters are free to reinvent themselves. They take on roles that were previously unavailable to them. However once they have the experience of inhabiting different personas, they become that much more dedicated to their traditional societal roles. Shakespeare thus presents the Forest of Arden as a commentary on the permanent influence of society on individual identity, criticizing utopianism as an impossibility and stating that individuals re-enact their societal roles even in the absence of society.

Throughout this trip we have also been, like the characters in Shakespeare’s As You Like It,  pushed outside of our comfort zones; we have been transplanted into a new culture that, in many ways, is very different from what we are used to in the United States. I believe this has been an amazing growing experience for each and every one of us where we have had the opportunity to learn more about ourselves individually. Being forced to step out of my comfort zone once more, in this seemingly insignificant way, made me that much more aware of what a growing experience this truly is, and of the characters undergoing such a similar transformation.