Jonathan Groff in all-male revival of As You Like It – everything you need to know as performances begin

The Forest of Arden will bloom in Stratford-upon-Avon this autumn with an all-new production of As You Like It.

The Royal Shakespeare Company will play host to Tony Award-winning Broadway star Jonathan Groff, marking his theatrical return to these shores for the first time in 15 years. It marks the first time that he will have performed Shakespeare – less the small part in The Taming of the Shrew in Kiss Me Kate from his high school musical.

He will be under the direction of the company’s co-artistic director Daniel Evans when it runs from 26 September to 7 November.

Without further ado – oh, sorry, wrong Shakespeare play! – here is everything we know so far.

What is As You Like It about?

The play has all the hallmarks of a Shakespearean comedy – expect mistaken identities and wordplay, including the famous “all the world’s a stage” monologue.

In brief, the play follows Rosalind, played by Groff, who is banished from the court of Duke Frederick but falls in love with Orlando before fleeing to the Forest of Arden with her cousin Celia.

Groff first visited Shakespeare’s birthplace in 2019 and watched a gender-swapped production of The Taming of the Shew. It was a performance that moved him so much that he went next door to the gift shop to buy cards to write fan mail. He commented: “The experience of seeing Shakespeare performed so brilliantly in Stratford hit me in a very primal way.”

Since then, Groff has had a stellar six years performing in New York, including earning his Tony Award for his performance in Merrily We Roll Along and originating the role of Bobby Darin in Just in Time. This will mark the first time that the actor has performed Shakespeare; however, he was more than able to prove his knowledge in a special quiz!

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Who is set to star?

Fisayo Akinade will play the second part of the double-act, Celia. You can listen to the duo in our special interview with the pair on the WhatsOnStage Podcast here. In the chat, Akinade calls his Celia “a diva”.

Additionally, Elliot Barnes-Worrell will play Orlando, Gary Wilmot will play the dual roles of Duke Frederick and Duke Senior, with Richard McCabe as Jaques and Greg Haiste as Touchstone.

The full company includes Giles Cooper (Le Beau), Jamal Franklin (ensemble), Steffan Harri (Gwilym/Syr Osian), Steffan Hughes (ensemble/vocal captain), Rhys Parry Jones (Corin/Hymen/a Lord at Court/a Lord in Arden), Edward Judge (Charles the Wrestler/Silvius), Gareth Kennerley (First Lord in Arden/Ensemble), Luke McCall (Amiens), Tim Preston (Phoebe/a Lord at Court), Caleb Roberts (Oliver), and Gareth Snook (Adam/Audrey).

Akinade has performed in an earlier production of the play on tour in 2013, for which, he was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award, but this marks his RSC debut.

 It is not yet known whether any characters will keep their pronouns or change them to suit the nature of this production. Stay tuned!

What can audiences expect?

Listen for free here:

Evans says that he has long admired Groff, and a video series showing the two in conversation has revealed rather a lot about the production. Crucially for musical theatre fans, Theo Jamieson has written a score to discover the music of As You Like It, which was written originally with prose and verse. Groff says: “It feels like a musical sometimes,” and has confirmed that a male voice choir will sing songs a cappella, as the Forest of Arden has been located in Evans’ much-loved rural Wales.

Set to be performed in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s thrust staging, the creative team includes set designer Anisha Fields, costume designer Colin Richmond, lighting designer Ryan Day, composer, arranger and music supervisor Jamieson, sound designer Paul Groothuis, movement director Michela Meazza, fight director Kev McCurdy, dramaturg Dr Will Tosh and casting director Charlotte Sutton.

The director has explained his decision to cast an all-male production to strip the piece back to how it would have been performed originally, as women weren’t allowed to perform on the theatre stage. Similarly, Rosalind escapes from an oppressive court while dressed as a man. He said: “However you identify… the message is that all those conversations are well and good, but ultimately there’s one thing that’s important in life and that’s love.”

Costume designer Richmond has not yet revealed any visuals of his early ideas, but Groff paints quite the picture, calling them “outrageous” and referencing one of his that features a “sheepskin trim” and a “school tie around [his] thigh.”

In press materials, Evans said: “… I hope to give audiences an opportunity to experience Shakespeare’s most sweet-tempered comedy in a way which is playful and joyful, and which inspires conversation about our world now. Ultimately, this is a play which celebrates love in all of its many forms. Love is love and, however we identify, it falls where it falls…”