About As You Like It (AYLI)

"All the world's a stage." Shakespeare's popular pastoral comedy about love, disguises, swapped gender roles, and banishment into the woods comes to the Sunshine Coast in July 2026!

What's the Story of As You Like It?

The evil Duke Frederick usurps his twin brother Duke Senior’s throne and banishes him to the Forest of Arden. A bunch of lords, including Jacques, go with him. They camp there for a decade or so.
Duke Frederick’s daughter Celia and Duke Senior’s daughter Rosalind have grown up together at court, as best buddies.
Le Beau, one of Duke Frederick’s courtiers, brings in Charles, a professional wrestler, to entertain the court. Orlando is the younger brother of Oliver, who is ill-treating him. Orlando takes on Charles, and wins the match and Rosalind’s love, but also Oliver’s murderous wrath. Orlando and Adam, an old servant, flee into the forest.
When Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind, Celia goes with her into the forest. Rosalind dresses as a boy, and calls herself “Ganymede.” Celia dresses as a peasant, “Aliena.” Touchstone the jester reluctantly goes with them. Corin, a shepherd, helps them buy a farm.
In the forest, everyone bumps into everyone else. Duke Senior and his court talk philosophy and sing songs. Orlando meets Ganymede, who gives him lessons in courting his beloved Rosalind. Phoebe, a shepherdess courted by Silvius, falls in love with Ganymede. Touchstone courts Audrey the goatherd. Oliver and Aliena fall in love.
Duke Frederick comes to the woods to murder his brother, but meets the wandering philosopher priest, Sir Martext. The Forest works its magic on Duke Frederick and Oliver, who renounce their wicked ways and their lands. Rosalind and Celia reveal themselves. Everyone dances off: the couples to get married, and Duke Senior and his lords return to their court and lands.

As You Like It Music

• Hey Ho, to the Greenwood Now Let Us Go (score in key of G): Amiens, All Forest Lords & Forest Page, Duke Senior, Jaques, RenFriends Singers, et al (anyone who wants to sing it)

• Trolly Lolly (score version 2) - Amiens and Lord #1 with Lord #3 accompanying on “Renaissance guitar”

• Knights of the Arden Forest (score, MIDI practice part), to the tune of Knights of the Round Table - All Forest Lords & Forest Page

• Under the Greenwood Tree (score, MIDI practice part), to the tune of Greenwood AKA Will You Walk the Woods So Wild - verse 1 & 2: Amiens solo on verse, All Forest Lords & Forest Page on chorus; verse 3 - Jacques

• Blow Thy Horn, Hunter (score) - Amiens, All Forest Lords & Forest Page.

• Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind (score), to the tune of Green Groweth the Holly - Amiens and Lord #1 on verses, All Forest Lords & Forest Page on chorus.

• Fair Phyllis (score, practice parts with words!) - Amiens, All Forest Lords & Forest Page, RenFriends Singers, et al (anyone who wants to sing it)

• O Sweet Martext (score), to the tune of O Sweet Oliver - Touchstone

• The Hunt is Up (score) - Amiens, All Forest Lords & Forest Page

• What Shall He Have that Killed the Deer (score) - Amiens & Lord #1 on descant, All Forest Lords & Forest Page on ground

• It Was a Lover And His Lass (score) - Amiens, All Forest Lords, BOTH Pages, RenFriends Singers, et al (anyone who wants to sing it)

• Wedding is Great Juno’s Crown (score), to the tune of Dulcina - Amiens, All Forest Lords, BOTH Pages, RenFriends Singers, et al (anyone who wants to sing it)

• Instrumental incidental music: Rowland (Lord Willoughby); and four dances from Wigthorpe Manuscript (Add. MS 17786): Strawberry Leaves, Tickle My Toe, My Robin is To the Greenwood Gone, and Hollis Berrie

• Youtube Playlist of the original tunes of these songs and instrumental music that the Fairy Band played

AYLI Scripts

• OUR EDITED SCRIPT v 1.6 (subject to further changes)

• Line Changes to our script: made after Apr 8th

• OUR SCENE BREAKDOWN of who’s in which scene. X=lines, N=nonspeaking, S=song only.

• Internet Shakespeare’s overview and full unabridged script with linked definitions

• Folger Shakespeare Library's plot synopsis and full script

• LitCharts side-by-side original and modern translation

AYLI Performances and Summary Videos

Shakespeare is meant to be seen or heard, not read. In Shakespeare's day, only about 30% of men and 10% of women could read. You went to the theatre to "hear" a play.

• Globe Theatre's 16thC-period 2009 production (on DVD) - well worth watching

• Oxford Theatre Guild's 2020 production

• 1936 film adaptation with Laurence Olivier!

• Royal Shakespeare Company summary (2 min) and scene-by-scene description

• HandleBards summary using only props! (6 minutes)

• Gradesaver animated summary (9 minutes)

Actors' Resources for AYLI

• Our Character Notes for AYLI

• Behind the Scenes of As You Like It, with Lise Kreps & Michael Gurney

• Royal Shakespeare Company's Exploring Acting AYLI and Character Notes

• Shakespeare With Sarah Actor's Guide to AYLI

• Internet Shakespeare’s Introduction essay to AYLI

• Variations on a Theme of Love: An Introduction to AYLI - essay by Ian Johnston

• Shakespeare For All's podcast 3-part series about AYLI (scroll down)

• Shakespeare’s Globe #SuchStuff podcast (transcript) on AYLI

• OpenUniversity's free online course, Reading AYLI

Actors’ Resources for Performing Shakespeare

• Glossary of Shakespearean words and names, with pronunciations (click the speaker icon; apostrophe comes just before the stressed syllable)

• For natural yet powerful delivery of Shakespeare's words, few can match Benedict Cumberbatch. Watch his Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech.

• ShakespeareWithSarah Youtube channel

  • Speaking in iambic pentameter

  • How to act Shakespeare

• Ben Crystal's ShakespeareOnToast Youtube channel

  • What's Iambic Pentameter? (5 min)

  • How to Map a Shakespeare Speech (18 min, well worth it)

  • The First Folio, and a 1676 working script copy (9 min)

  • Although Shakespearean Original Pronunciation (10 min, shot in the Globe Theatre) is fascinating, our production will be (mostly) in ordinary Western Canadian.

• What is an Italian Run?

• Theatre Pro app (iPhone or iPad, $17) bundle of Shakespeare Pro, Script To Go, and Soliloquy Pro

Renaissance Dance teaching videos

• Galliard (also "Cinquepace" after its five steps - or, if you're Sir Toby, "Sink-a-pace"), a fast triple-meter kicking dance

• Coranto (also "Courante"), a not-so-fast triple-meter skipping dance

• Bransle (Washerwoman's Bransle - we like the scolding fingers), a duple-meter stomping dance

• Pavan (also "pavane" or "pavin"), a stately duple-meter parade around the room, to show off your fancy clothes

Sunshine Coast Community Shakespeare Project

coastshakespeare ( at ) gmail.com

We are fortunate and grateful to work and play in ch'atlich (Sechelt), on the unceded ancestral lands of the shíshálh Nation.