The reviews are in for the RSC’s all-male As You Like It, which opened at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on Tuesday 6 October with Jonathan Groff making his Shakespeare debut as Rosalind. Daniel Evans directs a company of men in the comedy of exile and disguise, moving it from a cold monochrome court to a Welsh hillside Arden. Press night was halted for more than an hour when the set jammed, and almost every critic mentions it, but the notices are warm: Groff is widely praised, Fisayo Akinade’s Celia runs him close, and the all-male casting is mostly judged a source of depth rather than a gimmick. The dissenters are The Telegraph, which finds the evening stylish but insubstantial, and a couple of critics who feel the pace slacken late on.
The verdict: fourteen reviews so far: six five-star notices, four four-star, one three-star, and three outlets that print no rating or keep it behind a paywall. Among those that score it, the average is 4.5 out of 5. Nearly every critic praises Jonathan Groff’s Rosalind, and most of them make room for Fisayo Akinade’s Celia.
What are critics saying about AS YOU LIKE IT?
WhatsOnStage
"Jonathan Groff leads a joyous, all-male revival at the RSC"
Reviewer: Sarah Crompton
Sarah Crompton reports that not even an 80-minute technical stoppage on opening night could dampen the joy of the forest’s eventual reveal, and calls the staging a sharply intelligent reading of a tangled play.
"Groff is superb in his Shakespearean debut, eyes flashing both with merriment and righteous indignation"
She finds Fisayo Akinade’s watchful Celia a full match for him, praises Richard McCabe’s unusually touching Jaques and Gary Wilmot’s two Dukes, and accepts that the cuts cost a little along the way.
All That Dazzles
Reviewer: Raphael Kohn
Raphael Kohn admires the jolt from the smoky, monochrome court to the hillside of Arden, and is struck that the company kept its energy after a pause he timed at an hour and 20 minutes.
"Groff is, at his heart, a tremendous showman."
He singles out the chemistry between Groff and Akinade, finds no weak links in the company, and concludes that the single-sex casting is neither radical nor a gimmick, because Daniel Evans lets the comedy speak for itself.
Staged
"Jonathan Groff shines in an extraordinary and joyous As You Like It at the RSC"
Reviewer: Karen Jemison
Karen Jemison notes how many young people the star casting has drawn to Stratford, and finds the evening fully earns their attention.
"Groff is a natural. The words roll off his tongue with ease"
She enjoys the playful pairing of Groff and Akinade and Wilmot’s double act as the two Dukes, and counts Theo Jamieson’s Welsh-flavoured music and the transformation of the set among the highlights.
The Recs
Reviewer: Nicola Berry
Nicola Berry is the most exuberant of the critics, declaring everyone on stage magnificent and saving special praise for Wilmot’s RSC debut as the two Dukes.
"a sexy, gender-bending tour de force delivering his lines with panache"
That is her verdict on Groff. She also hails Gareth Snook’s show-stealing Audrey, Greg Haiste’s Touchstone and Colin Richmond’s costumes, and calls the whole thing bold, joyful, crowd-pleasing stuff.
Theatre Tradge
"New all-male production is overflowing with wit and whimsy"
Reviewer: James Tradgett
James Tradgett credits the clarity with which the story is told, and finds Groff more than justifies the star casting with a performance of real vim.
"a wonderfully whimsical, splendidly upbeat production that delighted, amused and roused us into a frenzy"
He enjoys Elliot Barnes-Worrell’s youthful Orlando and finds the company’s harmonies as tight as in any musical, with the long technical delay doing nothing to spoil the mood.
Beyond the Curtain
Reviewer: Mark
Mark thinks the production is destined to be remembered, and that the all-male company serves the play’s modern point that love is love.
"a masterclass in charm, nuance, and comedic precision as Rosalind"
He calls Akinade’s Celia an absolute triumph, picks out McCabe’s melancholy “Seven Ages of Man” and Snook’s Audrey, and thanks the technical crew who moved the stuck scenery by hand.
The Guardian
"there are no mere players in the RSC’s ravishing all-male escapade"
Reviewer: Arifa Akbar
Arifa Akbar finds Groff a fun Rosalind, if too declamatory at first and subtler as the evening goes on, and thinks Akinade’s Celia is the runaway highlight.
"The all-male casting brings depth and subtlety of meaning, proving ingenious rather than gimmicky"
She relishes the brutal court and its staged wrestling bout, and the rural Welsh Arden, but feels the pacing drags in the later stages.
Elemental Theatre
Reviewer: Thomas Levi
Thomas Levi praises Groff’s thought-to-speech connection and Akinade’s comic timing, but finds the single-sex casting more complicated than it first appears, particularly in the final transition.
"one of the clearest Shakespeare productions I have seen in some time"
He likes Barnes-Worrell’s grounded Orlando and the Welsh choral writing, thinks the court and Arden feel like separate concepts, and finds Audrey’s pop number a step too far towards camp.
StageTalk Magazine
"A thoroughly interesting and idiosyncratic production of As You Like It"
Reviewer: Philip Gooden
Philip Gooden sees a brisk, strapping Rosalind beside a more supple Celia, and finds that having men play the cousins makes their bond newly visible.
"Richard McCabe gives the most affecting Jaques I’ve seen"
He admires the cold court and the Welsh hillside of Arden, and notes that the press-night audience sat through the long stoppage with patience before giving the show a standing ovation.
The New York Times
"Jonathan Groff Dazzles in a Beautifully Broken ‘As You Like It’"
Reviewer: Helen Shaw
Helen Shaw turns the opening-night breakdown into her theme: the set jammed just as the exiles fled for Arden, and to her the stoppage fell exactly where the play itself breaks open.
"this gorgeous and liberatory “As You Like It” broke right where Shakespeare might have meant…"
She describes a court as colourless as a chess set, with Wilmot’s Duke sliding about it like a bishop, and calls the production spectacular.
Production photographs by Marc Brenner.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Dave Fargnoli, four stars, “Warm, earnest and unabashedly entertaining”), The Telegraph (Dominic Cavendish, three stars, “This all-male As You Like It is stylish, fun – and curiously insubstantial”), The Times (Clive Davis, “the RSC’s all-male romp, with hunks and pop songs”) and the Financial Times (“Jonathan Groff leads a joyous all-male RSC production”), whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
For a first look at the production, see our production photographs of Jonathan Groff as Rosalind, and for a very different Arden this autumn, our roundup of the reviews for As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe.
As You Like It runs at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 7 November 2026.
