Setting

Click on the images below to find out more about the setting of As You Like It and what we know about the world the play is set in.
  • Duke Frederick in an austere black outfit with a small white ruff.
    The court has been through a change in leadership, with Duke Frederick only recently banishing Duke Senior.
  • People in a circle singing with a guitar.
    Duke Senior has gone to the Forest of Arden with his followers and they have set up camp there. They are described as being like Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
  • Celia and Rosalind in their disguises, talking to Orlando.
    It is safer to travel as a male and female pair, which leads to Rosalind dressing as a man to travel to the forest.
  • Charles and Orlando wrestle in front of a crowd.
    There is a strict hierarchy in the court and the people who live there enjoy the sport of wrestling as entertainment.
  • Touchstone and Corin in the forest together.
    Lots of people live and work in the Forest of Arden, including farmers and shepherds.
  • People dancing together at a wedding in front of a large statue.
    There are a number of rules and expectations around courtship, or wooing, that exist at the court.

Every production of As You Like It will contain all the known facts from the above pictures -  the certainties within the play, however, how they are presented and approached, have limitless possibilities. The play can be set in any two contrasting places, one representing rules and the other freedom, for example a boarding school and a commune, or a country under a dictatorship and a neighbouring democratic country, as long as the facts above are included.

Why do you think changing the world or setting of the play might be helpful for modern audiences? Where might you choose to set As You Like It?

For the 2019 production of As You Like It, Director Kimberley Sykes decided not to use a specific time or setting to build on the theme of performance and theatricality in the play. Take a look at the video below showing Kimberley in conversation and the play in rehearsal. Do you like this idea for the play, or do you have a clear setting in mind?

Teacher Notes

On this page students can explore some of the key things that we know about the setting of As You Like It by clicking on the pictures.

You can use these pictures, or other images, as a starting point to discuss what they know about the setting of the play and to think about where they would set the play if they were creating their own production. A great way of doing this visually is for students to create a mood board or collage of images that could be used as design inspiration.