Let's face it Shakespeare's As You Like It is not the most audacious play to open the new season at the Lyceum with. Yet what is lacking in originality it more than make up for in spectacle, accompanied with some fine acting.

For the uninitiated As You Like It has all the trappings of a great Shakespearean comedy, love, mistaken identity, cross dressing and a number of excellent comic characters particularly Robert Laing's licentious Touchstone. Mark Thomson's production is big on style with the setting of the court all angular chrome and black including the acting which at this point in the play seems to plod along rather uninspiring. Yet with the revelation of the Forest of Arden the set transforms from the cold harsh lines into a bright and breezy set complete with fluffy white hillocks. Gregory Smith has designed a lovely set, which fits both locations for the play perfectly without over imposing on he acting or the text. 

In what has to be said is a rather mixed cast there are a few exceptionally fine performances which constantly draw the attention and keep the audience enthralled throughout. Most notable of these  is Emma Cunniffe as a superb and ballsy Rosalind, combining the right mix of a young woman in love with an intelligence and quick wit, which works wonderfully alongside the more stoic Celia (Eilidh Macdonald). Unfortunately the lovers are let down by a rather spineless Orlando (Richard Conlon), one of the great romantics but both written and played without much power or passion, making the character seem more like a lost puppy than a young man full of passion and yearning. Countering the lovelorn Orlando is the aforementioned Touchstone, given all the best comic lines he is the antithesis of Orlando when it comes to love and his pursuing of the common farm girl Audrey performed with a coy smile by Fiona Steele is one of the highlights of the production.

One of the aspects of Shakespeare's plays, which are often neglected, is his songs. There are many littered throughout his plays yet most often they are cut, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear so many of them performed in the Forest of Arden, with each song enhancing the mood of the scene, be it melancholic, romantic or comic all were performed with aplomb.

Ending with a rather cosy and warm wedding with each character loved up and looking forward to what will undoubtedly be a happy ever after style ending. I couldn't help but want to be cuddling up to someone myself, although I thought I better not, for fear of a slap from the people sitting either side of me. Still, I left the theatre with a pleasant warm glow that lasted all evening.