Review Roundup: AS YOU LIKE IT at Shakespeare's Globe
The first reviews are in for As You Like It, the Globe's summer staging of Shakespeare's forest comedy of disguise and courtship, co-directed by Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine, who also plays Orlando. It opens in a court of towering wigs and absurd silhouettes before decamping to a Forest of Arden that is sketched onto blank canvases in front of the audience. The critics are warm rather than rapturous: all of them praise the company, with Lola Shalam's Rosalind, Gracie Oddie-James's Celia and Jonnie Broadbent's Touchstone singled out again and again, while several feel the production's most striking ideas never quite resolve into a single argument.
The verdict: five reviews in so far — one four-star notice and three three-star, plus Everything Theatre, which rates the show "Excellent!" on its own word-based scale instead of in stars. Across the four that score it, the average is 3.25 out of 5. Every single one of them praises the company; the recurring reservation is a production whose best ideas do not quite add up to an argument.
What are critics saying about AS YOU LIKE IT?
Time Out
"Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine direct an eye-popping but extremely fun take on Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy"
Reviewer: Andrzej Lukowski
"This is not a production that (as far as I can tell) comes with a massive high concept and I don’t think the reason why the opening court scene sees the characters dressed set in a sort of eye-poppingly absurd 17th century style – big wigs; insanely silhouetted dresses; vaguely kinky; general Marie Antoinette-on-acid vibes – comes with any great point other than that it looks awesome and it sets up a contrast with the longer more rustic sequence that follows when most of the key cast are banished or run away to the Forest of Arden."
London Box Office
Reviewer: Stuart King
"In the role, Lola Shalam extracts comedy a-plenty as she dons a male disguise (as cock-sure Ganymede) to avoid detection, whilst simultaneously attempting to woo the object of her affection Orlando (Charlie Josephine, whose waspish and reedy vocal delivery was frequently inaudible and at odds with the presented feisty roguishness). I found myself sympathising with the entire company which had to battle at least a dozen large and noisy jets passing overhead during last evening’s performance, but an ability to project, is a fundamental requirement of any stage performer — particularly in an open air setting."
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Oli Burgin
"The performers are the life of the production. Charlie Josephine’s laddish, earnest Orlando is a fresh take on a younger brother who wasn’t given the elevated education of his peers. Lola Shalam’s Rosalind (and later Ganymede) is assertive, irreverent and captivating to watch. A comic stand-out is Gracie Oddie-James’s Celia, who is wonderfully ditsy and vibrant, delivering each line with a cadence both baffling and somehow still authentic."
All That Dazzles
Reviewer: Phil Meikle
"At the start of the play, we are treated to an abundance of high camp, with most of the cast adorned in extravagant 17th-century foppish costumes by Academy Costumes London, alongside towering wigs and knowingly gaudy make-up by Gilly Church. As the principal characters take centre stage, the wider cast lines the back of the set in a series of living-statue-like tableaux, framed by Paul Wills’ white canvases that give the impression the figures have stepped directly from their portraits. These create striking set pieces and provide a series of entertaining visual spectacles."
Everything Theatre
"Shakespearean comedy at its very best in a performance that throws the extraordinary language around with lighthearted revelry"
Reviewer: Lily Middleton
"The cast are fantastic: every single member is a delight to watch and there are no weak links. Particular highlights include Jonnie Broadbent, who is truly hilarious as Touchstone, brilliantly encapsulating the nature of the jester. He pushes the language deliciously, making it work for the audience who are lapping at his feet."
These are the opening notices, filed in the first days of the run, and the national critics have yet to publish — we will return to this roundup once they do. In the meantime, see what the critics made of How the Other Half Loves at the Old Vic and Abigail's Party at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Production photography by Marc Brenner.
As You Like It is booking at Shakespeare's Globe until 25 October 2026.