“Even one of the finest directors in Canada can turn out a misfire. So it is with the Stratford Festival’s latest As You Like It directed by Chris Abraham. AYLI may be one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays but it is also one of his most difficult since it is virtually plotless. It therefore requires a very firm hand, and here Abraham, contrary to every other play he has directed, has allowed his grip to relax…
The cast is very uneven particularly in voice production. Some know how to project and speak clearly enough to convey the text’s meaning, some shout rather than project and thus obscure its meaning and some alternate between the two….
Luckily, there is a cadre of actors who are expert at projecting voices and conveying meaning. Chief of these are Sean Arbuckle as the usurping Duke Frederick and Seana McKenna as the banished Duchess Senior (listed simply as “The Duchess”). Arbuckle’s expressions of suppressed rage are more frightening than any threat of gunfire, and McKenna’s expressions of contentment suggest that a woman too long at court is newly revelling in the strength and beauty of nature.”