Goodnight and farewell.

A few comments on the next phase of As You and Julius Caesar. Stratford upon Avon. RSC.

It has become something of a habit for repeat visits to RSC productions. As the run develops often the production begins to blossom, unfurling gently like a desert orchid.

Now when something starts as strongly as As You Like it did earlier in the year it was a delight to see this production again. Filled with warmth and the sheer joyousness of love this was a production marked by further breathless freshness.

At the end of play I was given a ribbon as part of the celebrations by no other than the legend that is Freshy (Geoffrey Freshwater; what a guy!) and the play finishes with Rosalind singing 'good night and farewell to you all’ concluding the epilogue.

Stephens was even better as Rosalind; flirty, fruity and feeling with Jonjo O’Neil a perfectly charming Orlando. Forbes Masson wowed us again with his falsetto melancholy and Richard Katz boggled the mind with his demented shoes and entanglement with rough patches of bramble.

For those of you that get the chance next year, go and see it upon its return next summer.

Also went to see Julius Caesar again, despite not being overly full of love for it last time. Granted this time thankfully some of the noisy sound effects had been ditched, the wild careering of the dead wife was gone and some of the extraneous stage gubbins had been got rid of, but we will were bludgeoned to death by imagery. By comparison Caesar got off lightly. Still the acting was a fine thing and again Sam Troughton as Brutus impressed as did Greg Hick as Caesar.

Let’s hope another year and it may have moved up a notch.