As You Like It, Illyria Outdoor Theatre Review
As You Like It is a piece which explores themes of family, loyalty, love, and forgiveness. This year, the award-winning outdoor theatre company Illyria stages it as part of its 2026 season.
The piece opens with Orlando, youngest son of Sir Roland de Boys, lamenting his mistreatment by his elder brother, Oliver. Forced into exile, he flees with Cyril, his father’s servant.
As a usurper, Duke Frederic has taken the throne of Duke Senior, Rosalind’s father; he shows little mercy towards his niece Rosalind, who, at the advice and accompaniment of her cousin, Celia, daughter of Duke Frederic, absconds to the woods hoping to find Rosalind’s father. In this venture, they take Touchstone, the court fool.
In this misadventure, Rosalind takes on the disguise of a man to travel more safely and meets Orlando for the second time, deciding to test his affections by maintaining her disguise. Through the piece, more characters are introduced, all mirroring dysfunctional romances, with the chaos coming to a head as the cast all re-meet, much like Rosalind and Orlando had previously.
Illyria’s production relies on an old slapstick type of humour in their execution of the storyline, which at times came across as juvenile. An issue found within the piece is how long a piece of humour is drawn out for; a few comedic moments were funny the first time but then overstayed their welcome.
Unfortunately, due to the small cast who are working incredibly hard to multi-role throughout this piece and the already convoluted plot, the second half somewhat loses itself. However, the piece itself is unique amongst Shakespeare’s works for also doing this.
The intent was to vary between family drama and political thriller, with a later shift to romantic comedy, but this change is so drastic that the first and second halves feel rather disconnected, and the intended shift led to more confusion than humour.
While Illyria pride themselves on unique thinking, the inclusion of an Elvis impersonator and a 24-hour drive-through chapel came across as random and unnecessary. The earlier songs within the piece suited well and showcased the cast’s talents, but the latter song became messy and confusing.
There was a creatively designed set, which was edited throughout the piece to show variation of the locations. The small wooden built stage served as the setting with hand-painted trees added throughout to show the depth of the forest. They were able to make creative use of such a small space, making it seem bigger than it was.
Outdoor Theatre is always such a wonderful idea; it widens the accessibility to theatre to those who cannot normally access it and provides needed fresh air.
This piece was a fun watch for those looking for an unserious showing; however, it felt somewhere between a standard small production of Shakespeare and a parody of his works, and perhaps the already genre-mixed piece did not lend itself well to this form of adaptation.
As You Like It performs as part of Illyria’s Outdoor Theatre season this year. For further information on where to catch this show and what else is on offer, visit their website.
★★★
Written by Charis for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
