{"id":814172,"date":"2026-03-09T10:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/814172\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:40:15","slug":"review-an-accessible-and-entertaining-as-you-like-it-at-fulneck-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/814172\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: An accessible and entertaining ‘As You Like It’ at Fulneck Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gary Lemal<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve visited Fulneck Theatre several times and have always enjoyed their productions. I\u2019ll admit I was slightly apprehensive before this one \u2014 would I enjoy a Shakespeare play with its 450-year-old language? I wondered if it might feel a little too \u201chigh brow\u201d.<\/p>\n

Those concerns quickly disappeared. From the warm welcome at the theatre to settling into our seats with a drink from the bar, the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting. Within the first scene I found myself accustomed to the language and completely drawn into the story.<\/p>\n

Directed by Dave Robbins, this lively Fulneck Dramatic Society<\/a> production marks a welcome return to Shakespeare at Fulneck after a ten-year break. The staging is simple yet effective, with minimal props that create just enough sense of place without distracting from the performances.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The story introduces us to a web of family feuds and romantic intrigue. <\/p>\n

Orlando and his brother Oliver dispute their late father\u2019s inheritance, while cousins Rosalind and Celia navigate the tensions between their feuding duchess mothers. When Rosalind is forced to flee from the court, she disguises herself as a young man and escapes with Celia to the Forest of Arden \u2014 where Orlando also finds himself. What follows is a witty and charming tale of disguises, mistaken identities and love.<\/p>\n

Madame Le Beau, played by Slavica Rankovic, guides the audience through the unfolding drama, helping bring the characters and their relationships to life.<\/p>\n

This production is a reminder that Shakespeare can be both accessible and thoroughly entertaining. The cast delivered confident and engaging performances throughout, bringing humour, warmth and energy to the stage. <\/p>\n

Fulneck Theatre once again demonstrates the strength of local theatre \u2014 talented performers, thoughtful direction and a welcoming atmosphere that makes audiences feel part of the experience.<\/p>\n

The most famous quote from the play comes from Jaques (Dominic Adams)\u00a0in Act Two, scene seven;<\/p>\n

All the world\u2019s a stage,<\/p>\n

And all the men and women merely players;<\/p>\n

They have their exits and their entrances\u2026.<\/p>\n

There were a number of new faces in the cast and all gave excellent performances.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The immensely talented Claire Andrews and Jack Massey played the lead characters, they along with the whole company gave the performance a life of its own, a credibility to this Rom-Com. <\/p>\n

It is amazing how a well produced, written, directed and performed play can still engage audiences after so many years.<\/p>\n

The cast (in order of appearance)<\/p>\n

Madame Le Beau (Senior Civil servant) \u2013 Slavica Rankovic\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orlando de Boyes \u2013 Jack Massey<\/p>\n

Adam (manservant to Oliver de Boyes) \u2013 Dick Porter<\/p>\n

Oliver de Boyes (Orlando\u2019s brother) \u2013 Chris Lang<\/p>\n

Denise (one of Freda\u2019s bodyguards)\u00a0\u2013 Georgiana Grant<\/p>\n

Charles (one of Freda\u2019s bodyguards and a noted wrestler) \u2013 Joe Braham<\/p>\n

Celia (Duchess Freda\u2019s daughter) \u2013 Alex Wallis<\/p>\n

Rosalind (Freda\u2019s niece\/Celia\u2019s cousin) \u2013 Claire Andrews<\/p>\n

Touchstone (Freda\u2019s court comedian) \u2013 Greg Adams<\/p>\n

Duchess Freda (the new \u2018duchess\u2019) \u2013 Chris Robbins<\/p>\n

Eleanor (the old, now deposed \u2018duchess\u2019) -Chris Porter<\/p>\n

Amiens (former cabinet member) \u2013 Magda Lydon<\/p>\n

Lord Kohli (former cabinet member) \u2013 Sriharsha Neergundha Nagaraj<\/p>\n

Jacques (a melancholy former Scottish MP) \u2013 Dominic Adams<\/p>\n

Silvius (wannabe farmer in love with fab Phoebe) \u2013 Charlie Crozier<\/p>\n

\u00a0Corin (Silvius\u2019 shepherd) \u2013 Paul Cullingford<\/p>\n

Audrey (a sluttish goatherd) \u2013 Helen Chesterman<\/p>\n

The Goat (voiced by) \u2013 Claire Andrews\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rev Oliver Martext (An American Evangelical preacher) \u2013 Mike Heyes<\/p>\n

Phoebe (glamourous shepherd not in love with Silvius) \u2013 Amy Woodruff<\/p>\n

William (a forest born lad of little brain) \u2013 William Lindley<\/p>\n

Landlord of the Arden Arms \u2013 William Lindley\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Hymen (a Godlike traveller) \u2013 Paul Clarke<\/p>\n

The crew<\/p>\n

Stage Management \u2013 Kate Walsh and Isabella Inman\u00a0<\/p>\n

ASM on the Book \u2013 Alacoque Marvin and Liz Sargeant<\/p>\n

Lighting and Sound \u2013 Emily Tasker\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stage Joinery \u2013 Paul Clarke and William Lindley\u00a0<\/p>\n

Set Painting \/ Sign Writer \u2013 Bruce Newton\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wardrobe \u2013 Chris Porter and Chris Robbins\u00a0<\/p>\n

Programme Design \u2013 William Lindley<\/p>\n

Publicity \u2013 William Lindley and Chris Robbins<\/p>\n

Box Office \u2013 William Lindley<\/p>\n

Front of House Manager \u2013 Barbara Badland<\/p>\n

Photography \u2013 Paul Clarke.<\/p>\n

Sponsored content<\/p>\n

\"\"www.sunnybankmills.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Gary Lemal I\u2019ve visited Fulneck Theatre several times and have always enjoyed their productions. I\u2019ll admit I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":814173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,208169,393,215584,234790,234791,212367,4884,1860,101522,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-814172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-community-reporters","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-fulneck","12":"tag-fulneck-dramatic-society","13":"tag-fulneck-theatre","14":"tag-gary-lemal","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-leeds","17":"tag-pudsey","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116198796769012276","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}