AS YOU LIKE IT William Shakespeare’s
Synopsis
Duke Senior has been forced into exile from the court by his brother, the usurping Duke Frederick. He takes refuge in the Forest of Arden with a band of faithful lords. Rosalind, his daughter, is kept uneasily at court as a companion to her cousin Celia, Frederick’s daughter. Meanwhile, Orlando, the youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys, has been kept in poverty by his brother Oliver since their father’s death. Orlando decides to wrestle for his fortune at Frederick’s court, where he meets Rosalind and they fall in love.
The Duke banishes Rosalind, fearing that she is a threat to his rule. Celia, refusing to be parted from her cousin, goes with Rosalind to seek Duke Senior in the Forest. For safety, they disguise themselves—Rosalind as a boy named Ganymede and Celia as his sister Aliena— and they persuade the fool Touchstone to accompany them. Orlando returns from the court and learns of a plot by his brother to kill him. He flees with a loyal servant to the Forest and takes refuge with the exiled Duke. Still thinking on Rosalind, he begins posting love lyrics through the forest. Before long, he encounters her, but she is disguised as
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Ganymede. She proceeds to coach Orlando on how to woo his Rosalind, often playing the part of Rosalind herself.
Elsewhere in the Forest, Touchstone pursues Audrey, a goat-herd, and the shepherd Silvius dotes on his neighbor Phoebe, who has fallen for Ganymede (Rosalind in disguise). Meanwhile, Oliver has been sent to hunt down his brother and arrives in the Forest, where Orlando saves Oliver’s life from a lion. Oliver repents his past abuse of Orlando and promptly falls in love with Aliena (Celia in disguise). As Ganymede, Rosalind promises to satisfy Orlando’s longing and to resolve all of the love plots
in one flourish. She does so, forsaking her disguise, reuniting with her father and joining at last with young Orlando. Then news arrives that Duke Frederick has had a conversion and renounced the Dukedom, so the exiles can return to civilization and their former lives. Only the melancholy Jaques will stay behind in the Forest. ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY (edited/updated by Edward Morgan)
Director’s Note On the surface, this is a tale of exile and romance. The plot is simple: a young gentleman and two young noblewomen