Stratford Festival 2025/As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Chris Abraham, Festival Theatre, closes Oct. 24.
Sara Farb as Rosalind and Christopher Allen as Orlando As You Like It.
Photo: David Hou.
Directed by the ever-imaginative Chris Abraham, Stratford’s 2025 production of As You Like It is a joyful, modern reimagining of the classic. Staged in the Festival Theatre, Abraham uses the entire theatre as a playing space—actors enter from aisles, burst through audience doors, and appear in unexpected places, making the audience feel fully immersed in the storytelling.
The setting is a contemporary fascist state, lending a chilling resonance to the storm troopers of the opening scenes. The usurping Duke Frederick’s regime is oppressive, with Julie Fox’s set invoking imagery of barbed wire fences and stark institutional repression. Rosalind (Sarah Farb) and Celia (Makambe K. Simamba)—dressed in restrictive garments evoking a cross between burkas and The Handmaid’s Tale—flee this dystopian environment for the liberating wilds of Arden.
Farb and Christopher Allen(Orlando) are charming as the central lovers. Farb’s Rosalind is playful and clever, and Allen gives Orlando an open-hearted earnestness. Their chemistry keeps the audience engaged. Steve Ross brings delightful comic timing to Touchstone the clown, who travels with the girls into exile. The villains of the piece, Andrew Chown as Oliver, Orlando older brother, and Sean Arbuckle as Duke Frederick deliver convincing menace, particularly in the stylized fascist scenes.
When the setting shifts to Arden—led by the banished Duchess (a commanding yet warm hearted Seana McKenna)—the entire theatre brightens. Music and warmth replace the repression of the court. The ensemble embraces the tangle of romantic subplots with enthusiasm: from the rugged, athletic shepherdess Phoebe (Jessica B. Hill) to the vulgar, slovenly goat herder Audrey (Silvae Mercedes), and the men who love them and the men they love, every character is vividly drawn. Fox’s costumes cleverly delineate character in this modernized setting.
Aaron Krohn gives us an unusually light Jacques. Rather than the typical brooding melancholic, he smiles through his cynicism, amused and slightly condescending as he watches the entanglements around him. His famous “Seven Ages Of Man” speech is delivered with both irony and insight.
What stands out most in this production is the omnipresent music. Every few minutes someone seems to produce a guitar or launch into song, and it works beautifully. The music becomes a binding thread, lifting the energy and filling the space with joy. The musicality is woven into the fabric of the show and makes the second act, in particular, fly.
This is a vibrant, thoroughly enjoyable production that speaks to the current political climate while preserving the comedy and heart of Shakespeare’s original.
My main takeaway? The glorious music. It’s everywhere and it’s magic.