It may be that when you achieve the status
of British director Sir Peter Hall (founder of the Royal Shakespeare
Company and a multiple Tony Award winner), you can pretty much
do what you want. But while casting his own daughter in the plum
role of Rosalind in his production of Shakespeare’s "As
You Like It" may boost her career, it did nothing for the
play.
Hall, 74, says he hasn’t tackled "As You Like It" since
1961, when Vanessa Redgrave played the role in a version he produced.
The reason was that he didn’t believe anyone else could match
her performance – until his daughter Rebecca came along.
Rebecca Hall, 22, makes her New York debut in Theatre Royal Bath’s
"As You Like It" (at BAM’s Harvey Theater until Jan.
29) with not much more theatrical experience than what she’s
learned at her father’s knee – although admittedly, that includes
working with him on a TV series at the age of 8 and performing
in his West End revival of "Mrs. Warren’s Profession"
as well as with her father’s repertory company, Theatre Royal
Bath, last summer. Oh, and yes, she’s appeared in college productions
at Cambridge.
All aspiring actors should be so lucky.
None of this is to say she is without talent. Throughout most
of the play, Rosalind pretends to be a young man, and Hall gives
the role a tomboyish grace. But she also has a limited range
that lacks breadth and depth, and a voice so shrill that it becomes
grating by the end of the play.
"As You Like It," one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies,
juxtaposes philosophy, cynicism and pure love – all of which
fuel romances that play out in the Forest of Arden.
Rosalind is the daughter of a French duke (James Laurenson) who
has been exiled by his brother Frederick (again James Laurenson).
She falls in love with Orlando (Dan Stevens), whose deceased
father, Sir Rowland de Boys, was a friend of the exiled duke.
Orlando’s elder brother, the evil Oliver (Freddie Stevenson),
plots to kill his younger brother, forcing him into exile in
the forest. And after incurring her uncle’s wrath, Rosalind dresses
up as a boy, Ganymede, and escapes into the forest along with
her cousin, Celia (Rebecca Callard) and Touchstone (Michael Siberry),
the court jester.
In the forest, Touchstone woos a bawdy and ignorant goat herd
named Audrey (Janet Greaves); a shepherd named Silvius (David
Birkin) courts Phoebe (Charlotte Parry), a shepherdess who unfortunately
is in love with Ganymede; and Oliver, who reforms after his brother
saves him from the claws of a lion, falls for Celia.
Orlando meets Ganymede, who teaches him about the true nature
of love. And Jaques, one of the banished duke’s attendants, pontificates
on the meaning of life. Needless to say, all the lovers are united
by the end of the play and (presumably) live happily ever after.
If Hall is not spectacular in her role, the other females in
lead roles – Greaves, Parry and Callard – more than pull their
weight. Each has an earthiness and sure-footedness that Hall
lacks. And Stevens and Stevenson are believable and funny as
the two feuding brothers.
Most disappointing was "All the world’s a stage," the
famous soliloquy recited by Jaques (Philip Voss), which left
this reviewer cold. And the jester would have been a lot funnier
if Siberry hadn’t garbled the words so that they were almost
incomprehensible.
What truly stood out in this production, however, was John Gunter’s
brilliantly evocative set that used light, shadow and illusion
to create a forest that was almost mystical in its beauty.
But for the most part, this "As You Like It" was just
another over-hyped British import. One will never know what toll
playing alongside the director’s daughter may have taken on the
other actors. The toll Hall’s indulgence took on the play is
obvious.
If you’re a dyed in the wool Anglophile, perhaps you’ll enjoy
this production of "As You Like It." But why not wait
for Vanessa Redgrave herself, who stars in the Royal Shakespeare
Company’s "Hecuba" at the BAM opera house in June?
Theatre Royal Bath’s production of "As
You Like It" plays Jan. 22 and Jan. 25-29 at 7:30 pm; Jan.
22 and Jan. 29 at 2 pm; and Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 at 3 pm at the
BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St. between Ashland and Rockwell
places in Fort Greene). Tickets are $25, $45, $65 and $75. For
more information, call (718) 636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
