Annual English Play- As You Like It

16 April 2015

It was a calm balmy evening with a little drizzle in between when the Annual English Play 'As You Like It' was staged at SMOAT on 15th April 2015 under the direction of Ms. Rachna Rachel Tripathi. It is a Pastoral Romantic Comedy by William Shakespeare. The background music and the visual display of a forest on the screen added to the element of authenticity. The play follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually love, in the Forest of Arden. There they encounter a variety of memorable characters. The play features one of Shakespeare's most famous and oft-quoted speeches, "All the world's a stage", and is the origin of the phrase "too much of a good thing". This was an abridged version of the play however some literary liberty had been taken although the theme and plot remained intact. Prateek Parihar’s role as the narrator helped the audience understand the sequence of events. At the end the Principal and VP asked some relevant questions to the characters. The Principal, Mr Samik Ghosh asked Divyaditaya Singh about his experience while learning Shakespearean English. The Principal congratulated the participants and mentioned that it is not easy to portray a Shakespearean play on stage. He appreciated the performance and said that the students spoke distinctly and were confident on the stage. Their acting displayed that they were dedicated to their respective roles. Mr Ghosh suggested that it should be staged again after two months to iron out the technical flaws and decide whether it should have fusion costume or period costume. Dr Madhav Saraswat found the performance wonderful as said that it was a good team effort. He praised the participants for remembering the dialogues which were a bit tough. VP, Mrs Shalini Mehrotra observed that the language may not have been easy to understand but the performance on the stage was note-worthy. Among the main characters Divyam Anandani portrayed the role of William Shakespeare, Sukanya Shukla acted as Rosalind, Abhijeet Nagpal as Orlando, Sughandha Shukla as Celia, Divyaditaya Singh as Oliver, Suvrat Mahendroo as Duke Senior and many more did full justice to their respective roles. The play was highly enjoyed by the audience.