Bard on the Beach: As You Like It

You know when you’re on the fence about going to a Shakespearean play after a long days drive coming back from the Okanagan?

But you already have tickets for opening night and you know there’s something different about this show but you’re not completely sure if it will be hit or miss?  And you don’t even realize that the Okanagan will play a big part in this production?

Well…don’t miss this presentation of “As You Like It” if you live in Vancouver or you just happen to be visiting.  Get thee to the Bard on the Beach to see something unique, uplifting, professionally done and so much fun.  I haven’t enjoyed a show this much since I saw Cirque de Soleil’s “Love” in Las Vegas.

If you’re a Beatles fan it will be especially fun because this is a twist on the original.  This adaptation features the music of the Beatles – performed by professional musicians who are also actors in the play.  And they’re very good.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” – Shakespeare

The Story (taken from the program):

Wrestling for Power

It’s the 1960s in Vancouver. Dame Frances, a powerful business owner, has taken control of the family firm and forced her sister, Dame Senior, to leave town. She permits her sister’s daughter, Rosalind, to stay because of Rosalind’s close friendship with her own daughter Celia.

The action begins at a wrestling match. Oliver de Boys, who manages a champion wrestler named Charles, argues with his younger brother Orlando. Orlando is angry that Oliver has mistreated him and held back his inheritance since their father died. Orlando decides to wrestle for his fortune. At the match, he meets Rosalind and they fall instantly in love.

The Great Escape

Dame Frances orders Rosalind to leave Vancouver, as she no longer trusts her. Rosalind and Celia decide to run away to the Okanagan forest. Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, Ganymede, and Celia becomes Aliena, his sister. Touchstone, a family employee, goes with them. Meanwhile, Adam, a longtime de Boys employee, warns Orlando that Oliver plans to have him killed. They also escape to the Okanagan. In the forest, Ganymede (Rosalind) and Aliena (Celia) meet Silvius and Corin, two local farmers, and arrange to buy a farm. Nearby, Orlando and Adam stumble upon Dame Senior, the exiled sister of Dame Frances, and her companions, who take them in.

Love Blooms in the Woods

Orlando leaves love notes about Rosalind throughout the forest. He meets Ganymede (Rosalind), who proposes that Orlando treat “him” as Rosalind, so he can practice his wooing. Elsewhere, Silvius pines for another farmer, Phoebe, while Touchstone meets Audrey and they pair up. In Vancouver, Dame Frances is furious that the girls and Orlando have disappeared. She demands that Oliver bring his brother back or else she will ruin him. But when Oliver shows up at the young women’s farm, he announces he has reconciled with his brother after Orlando saved him from a mountain lion. Oliver and Aliena fall in love.

Help!

Orlando grows tired of Ganymede’s game and believes his love for Rosalind is hopeless. Other relationships are also complicated: Silvius is still in love with Phoebe, but she’s smitten with Ganymede. Claiming “he” can work magic, Ganymede invites everyone to gather the next morning, when all will be resolved. Could it be true that “all you need is love”?

JUNE until SEPTEMBER 30 · BMO MAINSTAGE

For Tickets:

https://bardonthebeach.org/whats-on/discover-our-2023-season/