As You Like It thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

As You Like It

Costume Design
1991 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Design by Nick Ormerod showing the 'Basic Costume Exposition', As You Like It, Cheek by Jowl tours, 1991-1992 and 1994-1995.

This production of As You Like It was staged by the Cheek by Jowl theatre company and directed by Declan Donnellan, who co-founded the company with the designer, Nick Ormerod. Cheek by Jowl productions were notable for their simplicity of design and for their focus on the actor as storyteller, and As You Like It was a perfect example of the company's style, using Ormerod's white box set and forest of green hangings to create a simple, unobtrusive location for the action. The play began and ended with the whole acting company on stage. Dressed in basic black trousers and white shirts, they were clearly actors presenting a story to an audience which was required to use its imagination and participate in the illusion. The all-male production was first staged in 1991, toured extensively, and was revived in 1994 and taken on a further world tour which ended in London at the Albery Theatre. The freshness of the approach, and a fine Rosalind from Adrian Lester, won it critical plaudits. Nicholas de Jongh of the Evening Standard wrote that it would "define the play for the 1990s".


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAs You Like It (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil and crayon on paper
Brief description
Design by Nick Ormerod showing the 'Basic Costume Exposition', As You Like It, Cheek by Jowl tours, 1991-1992 and 1994-1995
Physical description
Design for the basic costume worn by all the characters in As You Like It, showing a full length male figure wearing a collarless white shirt with buttons at the neck and black trousers with braces. The design is inscribed 'Basic Costume Exposition' and is mounted on black card.
Dimensions
  • Design height: 29.5cm
  • Design width: 19.3cm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
'BASIC COSTUME / EXPOSITION' (Inscribed in pencil, lower left hand side of figure)
Credit line
Given by Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company
Object history
This design is one of a collection of designs for Shakespeare's As You Like It given to the museum by the touring theatre company, Cheek by Jowl, which staged the production in 1991-1992 and 1994-1995. The design shows the basic costume worn by all the actors at the start of the play, when the whole company assembled on stage.

Literary referenceAs You Like It
Summary
Design by Nick Ormerod showing the 'Basic Costume Exposition', As You Like It, Cheek by Jowl tours, 1991-1992 and 1994-1995.

This production of As You Like It was staged by the Cheek by Jowl theatre company and directed by Declan Donnellan, who co-founded the company with the designer, Nick Ormerod. Cheek by Jowl productions were notable for their simplicity of design and for their focus on the actor as storyteller, and As You Like It was a perfect example of the company's style, using Ormerod's white box set and forest of green hangings to create a simple, unobtrusive location for the action. The play began and ended with the whole acting company on stage. Dressed in basic black trousers and white shirts, they were clearly actors presenting a story to an audience which was required to use its imagination and participate in the illusion. The all-male production was first staged in 1991, toured extensively, and was revived in 1994 and taken on a further world tour which ended in London at the Albery Theatre. The freshness of the approach, and a fine Rosalind from Adrian Lester, won it critical plaudits. Nicholas de Jongh of the Evening Standard wrote that it would "define the play for the 1990s".
Collection
Accession number
S.208-1999

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Record createdJuly 22, 1999
Record URL
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