Interviews

Five Reasons to See … As You Like It

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2 September 2010

This autumn, the Quarry Theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse will be transformed into the Forest of Arden for their production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The poetic and passionate comedy is directed by Ian Brown, who makes a return to the Bard following productions of Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors. Nathan Wright, who plays the lovelorn Orlando, shares his five reasons why audiences should venture into the forest…

1. The Company

Ian Brown is fabulous. He’s superb. He’s great to work with. Visually he’s got some fabulous ideas, so it’s going to look absolutely stunning. There’s also some really, really wonderful actors in it, some people who are really up and coming and some actors who have done a lot. We’ve got a fabulous actress, Vanessa Kirby, who’s recently been at the National Theatre, playing Rosalind. She’s going to be great.

2. The Contrast

It’s light entertainment, but there are some very dark aspects to it. I think that’s what’s so enjoyable about the piece; it goes from light to dark very drastically. For me personally, that’s what I love about theatre, when the mood switches.

3. The Accessibility

People should come and see this show, I think, because it’s going to be extremely accessible. It’s going to be very visual…it’s lovely and flamboyant with big characters that have a really nice rapport with the audience. I think it’s going to be very accessible for kids. Kids are going to have a laugh while watching it. It’s going to be very free, very enjoyable.

4. The Look

We’ve got real trees shipped in from Wales. It makes it really realistic and atmospheric. We’ve got this lovely canopy over the top with light shining through it. It’s going to look great.

5. The Journey

We’re taking the audience on a journey; it’s not just about them just sitting and watching a piece of theatre. We hope to grab them at the start and take them on this whirlwind throughout the play so they can meet all these different characters in these different situations. It’ll be an adventure for the audience. We really hope to take them with us.

– Hannah Giles

As You Like It runs from 17 September to 16 October at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. For tickets, contact the box office on 0113 2137700 or visit www.wyp.org.uk