As You Like It

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave

""All the world's a stage."" —Jaques

The complete play in five acts. A Shakespeare Recording Society Production. A full-cast performance featuring Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Michell, Max Adrian, Stanley Holloway and Others

As You Like It is quintessential Shakespearean comedy, complete with a loquacious clown, lovers, disguises, rifts and reconciliation's, and all within the atmospheric confines of the enchanted Forest of Arden. As the title suggests, As You Like It is a play in which everyone gets their way, where sinners are redeemed and where love holds sway over all. And because it is Shakespeare, even so light a comedy contains a wealth of keen observations about humanity in general, and in particular about the age-old tension between so-called civilized society and the state of nature from which it evolved. No less poetically-accomplished than Shakespeare's' more serious works, As You Like It is a stimulating literary pleasure from start to finish.

sometimes, oldest is best

This is a good, complete version that does not require filling in gaps to understand, or straining to comprehend the language. I like that the music fits in well.

Hard to follow

If you haven't previously encountered As You Like It in some form, be it print or performance, I don't recommend starting with this version. While I picked up on the overall plot, there were definitely points when I was completely lost because I wasn't sure who was speaking. This recording was also hard to hear in spots, which didn't help. The music was lovely though - this was the first time I've really understood how a chorus can contribute to a play.

Enchanting production

This production is first-rate. Vanessa Redgrave is superb as Rosalind, Shakespeare's greatest comic heroine, and the supporting is great as well, especially the actors who play Touchstone and Jaques. My only complaint is that sometimes Redgrave is a bit hard to hear, since she tends to deliver Rosalind's sly innuendos sotto voce.