By Galen Simmons

Though many of the issues William Shakespeare wrote about in his time can be connected to issues we are facing as a society today, it can still be difficult to reimagine a Shakespearean classic and present it in a way a modern audience can relate to.

Like many, I struggle to relate to stories set in Elizabethan castles and characters dressed in 16^th-century finery, which can make it difficult to fully immerse myself in one of Shakespeare’s works. The Stratford Festival’s 2025 production of As You Like It avoided that issue altogether with a modern adaptation of a classic story that somehow felt as if the characters could have been from any time in the last half century.

It helps, of course, that much of the play is set in the Forest of Arden and surrounding agricultural land. As crafted for the Festival Theatre stage, the forest itself is not only believable, but captivating. Tall posts at the back of the stage, illuminated in different ways throughout the play, and the use of projection gives the audience the feeling the characters are, indeed, hiding out in a dense, vast forest that stretches far beyond the meagre encampment those who have fled from Duke Frederick’s (Sean Arbuckle) wrath established for themselves.

The portrayal of adjacent pastoral lands lends a sort of timeless nature to this classic story as the tall trees lose focus in favour of massive barn doors, and the forest greenery and encampment are traded for haybales and antique farming equipment.

In sharp contrast, the Duke’s court with its guards armed with automatic rifles, pallets stacked with dwindling grain supplies and tall chain-link fences gives the impression of a modern, if not somewhat post-apocalyptic, authoritarian regime – one that might result in refugees escaping its confines to seek a freer, safer life.

That sense of a refugee crisis – romanticized in that way Shakespeare is best known for – carries through the play as characters trade their court clothes for what I can only describe as found fashion – Ikea bags turned into dresses, reflective vests, ceremonial garb made from plant life and clothing otherwise suited for life outdoors. The props, too, whether it’s an old shopping cart filled with firewood, a canvas camping chair, or tin cans used as bowls give the sense the characters are using whatever they can scavenge to survive in their new reality.

With all of this as a backdrop, and even without an explanatory note from the director, Shakespeare’s story about love finding a way to flourish in the harshest of environments actually makes complete sense from a modern perspective. And it works, in no small part, because of the entirely believable performances of actors like Christopher Allen as Orlando, Sara Farb as Rosalind, Andrew Chown as Oliver, Seana McKenna as The Duchess and John Ng as Adam.

And, of course, what would a Shakespeare play be without its fool and its music, both of which are standout highlights in this production. Steve Ross (Touchstone), as he does in everything he appears in at the Festival, had me in stitches, and Shakespeare’s lyrics put to music and performed by Gabriel Antonacci (Amiens), Aaron Krohn (Jaques) and the rest of the cast lifted the production to a new level, as only good music can.

This opening-night production certainly sets the 2025 season off on a good note, and I can’t wait to see what else the Festival has in store.

As You Like It runs at the Festival Theatre until Oct. 24.