Mary Baldwin University’s Master of Fine Arts theatre company, Roving Shakespeare, presents As You Like It at 7:30 p.m. March 17 and 18 at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. This show is the fifth production of the season of Roving Shakespeare, the unique graduate company that combines students’ diverse regional backgrounds and shared knowledge of Early Modern theatre to bring the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries to available audiences.
The tangled story of the play depicts Rosalind as she flees into the Forest of Arden to find her banished father, accompanied by her cousin Celia and the fool Touchstone. During their journey, the characters meet lovelorn shepherds; a camp of lords-turned-foresters; and Orlando, a young gentleman who has fled from his hateful brother. While in disguise, Rosalind cleverly navigates her love for Orlando and his love for her. And as in a true Shakespearean comedy, weddings and reunions abound.
As You Like It is the only production in Roving Shakespeare’s season designed specifically to be performed on the stage of the Blackfriars Playhouse. Director Jarom Christopher Brown will use the space and its potential to differentiate this production from the rest of the season’s offerings. Under Brown’s direction, the play focuses on the constraints and indulgences of freedom and examines the concept of stepping back to move forward in life, as well as love, politics, and family.
The production is a “pay-as-you-like-it” performance.
Follow Roving Shakespeare on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the season. The Rovers’ Festival of Plays runs March 31–April 2at the Blackfriars Playhouse, with performances of all five of the company’s shows: The Sea Voyage, The Tempest, King Lear, Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It.