As You Like It review: 'A gorgeous, life-giving romance'

As You Like It is performed with tremendous panache by the Folksy Theatre cast

As You Like It, The Glen, Innerleithen ****

Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out, Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline ****

Well, this is the forest of Arden, says the heroine Rosalind to her cousin Celia, as the pair reach their place of refuge from the evils of the court; and rarely can those words have been spoken in a place that fits them more perfectly than the grounds of The Glen, in Peebleshire.

Peppa Pig and friends delight pre-school tots with their Fun Day Out

Set in a deep, densely-wooded cleft in the Peeblesshire hills, the house is a 19th baronial pile surrounded by wild green gardens and woodland; and it was in the garden that Folksy Theatre of Bothwell pitched their little stage on Thursday evening, for a joyful and mercifully rain-free performance of their current touring production of As You Like It.

Folksy Theatre have been going for a remarkable 15 years now, touring Shakespeare plays and other family entertainment to outdoor venues across the UK; their mantra is that all shows go ahead regardless of weather, unless there is forked lightning.

And in that sense, the company could hardly be better placed to understand the mood of Shakespeare’s great comedy, in which a society that has fallen under cruel authoritarian rule finds joy, healing and renewal through a flight to the forest, and a deep reconnection with nature. “Here shall we see no enemy,” sing the exiles, “but winter, and rough weather”; and Folksy’s two-and-half-hour show captures the spirit of the play perfectly, both in the political upheaval that forms the backdrop to the story, and the gorgeous, life-giving romance that occupies the comic and lyrical foreground.

Subtlety of interpretation is difficult, of course, in a shoestring outdoor production delivered by just five actors. If the delivery of the story sometimes involves broad brush-strokes, though, the company’s obvious love and respect for Shakespeare’s text, and their huge talent as both musicians and performers, carries the play through to its happy ending with tremendous panache; with fine performances along the way from Ronan O’Hara as our hero Orlando, Seonaid Stevenson as Celia, Holly Durkin and fine singer Stuart Scott in a dazzling range of roles, and Flossie Ure as Rosalind, delivering the play’s famous epilogue with grace, charm, and tremendous wit, as dusk finally falls over the forest.

Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out – currently on tour around Scotland big mainstage theatres – is not an outdoor or a promenade show; but it’s easy to imagine how it could be, as we follow Peppa and her friends through a delicious day out to celebrate the birthday of her best friend, Suzy Sheep. There’s a visit to the zoo, a trip to the seaside, and a scrumptious birthday tea on the beach; and the undoubted stars of the show are the little 2-4 year olds in the audience, who end up piling out into the aisles to dance, chant and groove along with Peppa and her chums, like tiny ravers in a tots' mosh-pit.

There’s always something slightly strained about stage shows based on much-loved television animations, with their heavy dependence on puppet performers, and strong amplified sound that sometimes seems to come from nowhere, rather than from the characters’ mouths.

This show, however, avoids most of those pitfalls in fine style, placing a human actor – Peppa’s friend Daisy, played with huge energy by Perry Sunuwar – at the centre of the story, revelling in her interaction with the gorgeous, witty and relatable Peppa Pig puppets, and offering the audience plenty of chances to join in the fun. And when it’s time to go home at last, the sigh that comes from the characters on stage is echoed by the audience; in a final tribute to a joyful, well-shaped tale, perfectly made for the pre-school tots who love it most.

As You Like It at Castle Fraser, Inverurie, 12 July, and Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, 13 July. Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, 13-14 July, His Majesty’s, Aberdeen, 17-18 July, and the Playhouse, Edinburgh, 20-21 July.