REVIEW: As You Like It

The truest testament of a person's character is how they react when placed in a difficult situation.

With this in mind, I'd like to offer a hearty congratulations to all the cast and crew of Outdoor Shakespeare in the Bay, which is currently presenting As You Like It at Te Puna Quarry until February 7.


You can catch Outdoor Shakespeare in the Bay's latest production of ‘As you Like It' down at Te Puna Quarry until February 7. From left: Antonia Guttierez, Leah Carrol, Sara Bates, Talia Harvey, Arumia Hayes, Kaydin Budd, Suzy Sampson and Oscar Van Der Beek. Photo: Penelope Coleman.

It was a gamble opening the season down at the quarry, with the weather threatening to rain on the show's parade. But given how beautiful the Dragon Lawn is, if I'd been in their shoes I would have made the same decision.

There was a momentary pause early on in the first half when a patch of rain came down, but after some 10 minutes which saw the crew frantically rushing around placing plastic rubbish bags over the speakers and lights, it was once again on with the show much to the audiences' delight.

It would have been enough to put any actor off, and if that was the case for the cast of As You Like It you definitely couldn't tell – they carried on with true professionalism and gave some outstanding performances.

Like last year's A Midsummer Night's Dream, once again director, producer and actor Suzy Sampson has cast this show extremely well. It was a wonderful thing to see such a range of faces, accents and abilities offering strong performances on The Dragon Lawn.

What I loved the most was how good each and every actor in this show is. From the leads all the way down to the supporting characters, they all proved hands-down that they deserved to be on that stage and more. This is a talented bunch of people who deserve big audiences.


Brittany Betjeman (Rosalind/Ganymede) and Tamanna Khurana (Celia/Aliena). Photo: Penelope Coleman

The leads Brittany Betjeman (Rosalind/Ganymede), Oscar Van Der Beek (Orlando) and Tamanna Khurana (Celia/Aliena) were absolutely brilliant for me and captured my imagination every time they walked into scene. I was also very impressed with their effortless energy and their deliveries of the text made Shakespeare's words sing out into the night.

Also impressing on the night was definitely David Simes (Touchstone) who had the audience it fits of laughter with great timing, invigorating energy and great use of body language which added an extra oomph to the words.

Music is a feature of As You Like It and was wonderfully arranged by musical director Leah Carrol who also acts in the show.

Some of my absolute favourite moments of the show featured the Foresters of Arden breaking out into song, especially the acapella pieces performed by Leah, Arumia Hayles, Talia Harvey, Kaydin Budd, Jean Paul Coquelet and nine-year-old Antonia Guttierez.

There's also a nice surprise early on in the show – and I definitely won't spoilt it, but I think Shakespeare would be proud.

Outdoor Shakespeare in the Bay's production of As You Like It has everything that will definitely tickle your fancy and is a show I would highly recommend to everyone.

OSITB presents Shakespeare's As You Like It at Te Puna Quarry from January 27 to February 7. Tickets available online from TicketDirect or over the counter at Baycourt. For more information visit: www.summershakespeare.com


The wonderful Foresters of Arden, from left: Jean Pierre Coquelet, Arumia Hayes, Leah Howard, Antonia Gutierrez, Kaydin Budd, Talia Harvey and Jas Chahal. Photo: Penelope Coleman

You may also like....

1 comment

must see

Posted on 31-01-2016 21:37 | By bayer

this is a very polished production of a classic shakespeare play. the quarry park setting is magical and the perfect back drop for this play. the actors and actresses are incredibly talented and they are our very own!! I'm going again.!!


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.