As You Like It Program / Canadian Stage

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Anand Rajaram

Romantic, hilarious, and adventuresome, As You Like It marks Shakespeare’s return to the High Park stage

A romantic comedy for the ages comes vividly to life in High Park. After Rosalind and her cousin Celia escape the Duke’s court, they flee in disguise to the fantastical Forest of Arden. But who (and what!) they find there are beyond their wildest dreams. Featuring new music by Serena Ryder, Kiran Ahluwalia, and Maryem Toller, along with production design by Shadowland Theatre, As You Like It is an epic return to the beloved Toronto tradition of Shakespeare in High Park. Shakespeare’s brilliantly funny play is directed by Anand Rajaram, and brought to life by a wonderfully lovable cast of actors and comedians.

Notes and Credits

As You Like It (or What You Will). What does the title mean? I think it refers to the concept of Utopia, the perfect world as you like it to be, actualized by what you will into existence through dream-led action. Corrupted systems around us are crumbling, and rightly so, as we strive towards a more just, inclusive society. But, the hardest part isn’t the renaming of buildings, tearing down of statues, or even reforming the legal system. The most difficult thing to do, is eliminate those restrictive systems within our own thinking & behaviour, find Utopia within ourselves. It’s only when we consider what Utopia could fully be, we realize both how close & how far we are from it, close because the changes that need to occur start with nurturing empathy & compassion, which we are better at now than ever before, far because we think we are closer than we are so we sometimes give up the struggle too soon. In the play, all of the characters are pursuing their own Utopia. As such, I have tried to engender an Utopic audition & rehearsal process. What that means is, all are encouraged to create as they feel inspired, so the wildness of the costumes & characters is a reflection of a (theoretically) free & liberated process, theoretically because we are all still struggling to feel truly free, bound by old constrictive methods of working. Thinking of Utopia not as a place but a practice is very helpful. But, illuminates there is much to shatter within our own minds since the outside world also lives in us. We know that we make the world & so, can change it if we choose. But to make a better world, we imagine it first, then build towards it. Without that initial imagining, we will soon be wandering lost.

What is an Utopic audition & rehearsal process? It’s empathy driving every decision as far as possible, from trying to inspire a wider range of submissions (beyond those with experience performing Shakespeare), to being as supportive & encouraging as possible through the whole process, actively chasing for the most inclusive & collaborative ways of creating. If anyone hits a seemingly insurmountable wall, thinking how that can be an asset not a drawback, accepting change is a constant, pivoting freely as the creative process blooms & opens paths not yet imagined. As rose-coloured as this way of thinking & working might be, the implementation is predictably difficult. Reading Shakespeare, for some, feels like a dusty antiquated foreign language, instead of the vibrant & live writing that it is. Performing Shakespeare can feel like it requires a very specific kind of delivery instead of accessing the core of all story-telling, exposing truths in an animated way. Receiving Shakespeare is now your work as an audience member, trusting us, I hope, that we have placed you at the centre of our process, you the Shakespeare lover & you the Shakespeare newbie, both heartily welcome as we connect with you for a joyous evening in one of the most spectacular performance spaces in the world. Will we attain Utopia here & now? No. But I hope in thinking about it, we’ll be a step closer.

Anand Rajaram

Read more about Anand and his journey directing As You Like It on CS Grid.