As You Like It... A Pierrot Parody

From the mound of theatre masterpieces, comes Rajat Kapoor’s recent stroke- I Don’t Like It, As You Like It, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It. A play within a play, with clowns being at its helm, it hits you like a breath of fresh air with its moments of high silliness and perfectly-timed comedy.

The plot revolves around a troupe of clowns doing “not so well” in the clown company. A poor financial run, everyone hating each other and unfolding issues every now and then, makes it difficult for the troupe to save the company. The troupe attempts to stage As You Like It under Popo (Joy Fernandes), a baton-wielding director, quick enough in his large-self to strike an aberrant actor’s rear. Dollops of romance amongst the clowns mirror the characters that they play, bringing them closer as the play progresses.

Coco (Aadar Malik) and Mimi (Faezeh Jalali) are excited young lovers who’re unable to keep their hands off each other, while Fifi (Shruti Vyas) and Fido (Vinay Pathak) are another couple where Fido is head-over-heels about Fifi, who ignores him and fancies other men. Soso (Cyrus Sahukar), is a rather depressed soul who is in a relationship with his sock puppet Toto. Trying to fit in the mad brigade is a floppy hat-wearing Gigi (Rytasha Rathore), a newcomer in the troupe, trying to make an existence amongst her egotistical peers.

To make it more complicated, Popo makes it worse by interchanging gender roles. Yes! The men cross dress as the women and the women cross dress as men. The plot progresses with their respective dynamism, discovering something new about themselves and about each other. With such strong plot-holding actors, the play worked wonders amidst the audience. The spontaneity with which the actors goof around is simply delightful. Vivacious Jalali’s athleticism is once again on display proving to be a whirpool of motion. 

Malik and his love for music was clearly visible with his short versions of hysterical songs. King of versatility, Pathak, didn’t fail (like always) to channel the mix of sadness and humour while portraying lover-boy Fido. Vyas and Rathore, with their strong presence are hilarious with their poignant style. Sahukar, being the pseudo-intellectual, lumbers about the stage with his comic stance.