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At this point, just over half way through the run of the play, As You Like It was given a 3 week break from performance. This was to give the actors in the Red Company the opportunity to rehearse full time for their second play of the season, A Mad World, My Masters and to open that production with a week of performances, before the play went into repertory with As You Like It. John and the rest of the company have been busy with rehearsal, technical rehearsal and previews and have not been thinking about As You Like It during this period. Therefore returning to the play is quite challenging.

The company were called to rehearsal before the show for a line run of the play (for which the actors just say their lines, without movement) and a speed run (for which the actors include their moves but as fast as possible). John found this very useful as it helped him to hear the words of the play again and to be reminded of the way in which the scenes fit together.

John has been enjoyed performing As You Like It again and rediscovering subtleties and key moments in the play. The company has also faced another challenge as Maggie Wells who plays Audrey was injured during a rehearsal for A Mad World, My Masters and was unable to perform. This means that the company have needed to adjust the way they play their scenes with Audrey in order to respond to a different interpretation of the role.

John still feels that his portrayal of Jaques is quite close to his own character, but feels comfortable and established in his performance. The audiences seem to warm to Jaques and have been very appreciative of John’s interpretation of the ‘Seven ages of man..’ speech.

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process – they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

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