Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ is reimagined as a ‘utopia’ with talking plants for the Dream in High Park

“Imagine a world where plants evolved and became walking, talking creatures.”

That’s director Anand Rajaram’s invitation to audiences in “As You Like It,” one of the headline events in this summer’s Dream in High Park series. Rajaram’s 90-minute version of Shakespeare’s comedy officially opens on August 4 and runs through September 4 at the High Park Amphitheatre.

Rajaram’s goal is to make the production accessible to the widest possible audience and that meant starting “from a place where children will understand” it, as well as “those for whom Shakespeare is foreign or English is a second language, or anyone who just understands cinematically, visually, by pictures,” he said.

The idea that the characters are more than human came out of discussions with Anne Barber and Brad Harley of Shadowland Theatre, who are designing sets, costumes and props for the show. “I told Shadowland that I don’t want there to be human beings onstage because I want the audience to be in a place of ‘What is this?’” said Rajaram. “And Shadowland said, ‘Well, what if everyone’s a plant of some kind?’”

He believes audiences will buy into the conceit quickly “because we’ve got Pixar, we’ve got ‘Monsters, Inc.,’ we’ve got ‘Cars,’ we’ve got ‘Toy Story.’ We’ve got all these things that are heightened reality,” said Rajaram. “There’s a very strong cartoon esthetic to the show. The idea is it’s a live cartoon.”

Shakespeare aficionados who come in expecting something close to published versions of the script might initially be disoriented. “But the people who approach it with an open mind, I think, will see it very differently,” said Rajaram. The show features new music by five contemporary recording artists, including Serena Ryder, Kiran Ahluwalia, Lacey Hill, Maryem Tollar and an anonymous contributor.

This is a full-circle moment for Rajaram, who’s never directed a major production before. His first professional acting job was in a High Park production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1996, a gig he “pursued doggedly” because the Shakespeare in High Park productions he saw in high school were the only ones in which he felt there could be space for him onstage. “Because of the openness of the space and the openness of casting, (High Park) was the first place I went to” when starting his career, said Rajaram.

“As You Like It” is a story of overturnings and reinventions: Duke Senior and his daughter Rosalind are banished from the court by Duke Frederick, Senior’s brother. Before leaving, Rosalind falls in love with Orlando, who pursues her to the Forest of Arden. In the forest there are multiple and overlapping romances, including Rosalind dressing as a boy and inviting Orlando to woo her as if she were Rosalind (which of course, she is). Meanwhile, Duke Senior tries to remake his life in a new setting.

When approaching the play, Rajaram started with the title: “What does ‘As You Like It’ mean? I think it means the world as you would like it to be,” he said.

He turned to Thomas More’s book “Utopia”, published in the mid-16th century, which “proposes another land which has different rules than the present and shows some things that are good and some things that are bad, but just shows alternate ways of living,” said Rajaram.

“So if it’s ‘As You Like It’ and we start in a place where everybody’s destabilized, everybody’s trying to find stability, peace, whatever, then when they get to the forest, then that’s their opportunity to figure that out.”

Rajaram found contemporary resonance in the idea of trying to rebuild a society without duplicating existing power structures. “We’re in a time of great destabilization, financially and socially, and all the paradigms that we knew are kind of crumbling and new ones are arising. We are actively seeking utopia but tearing down a statue doesn’t attain it,” he said. “The building after is the hard part and that’s where all the characters are.”

To reinforce this idea of breaking down hierarchies, Rajaram came to rehearsals with a gold crown on his head, wearing a costume: a big velvet peacock puppet with its head in front of him and tail behind.

“I’ve seen directors who will show up at rehearsal wearing a suit because it’s a mark of authority,” he said. “This is kind of a playful upturning of the idea. I’m the king in the room, but I’m also riding a peacock. It’s to maintain a sense of play in the room and maintain a sense of not taking things too seriously.

“Everyone responds differently” to his costume, Rajaram added, but “nobody has a negative response.”

Working on the show has allowed Rajaram to explore the concept of utopia in depth.

“When we go to the forest, it’s all things dying and decaying and mushroomy and fungusy, and that’s scary. But that’s where the richness of everything really is, where it’s free and abundant,” he said.

“Utopia ultimately is reconciling mortality. Once you aren’t afraid of death anymore, that’s when you achieve utopia. That’s what love is, fundamentally, is when it’s timeless and there’s no fear of death.”

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