Last night, The HandleBards brought As You Like It to the Hawkstone Follies, and the result was something far more significant than a standard night of theatre. As the actors moved through the Grand Valley—set against the labyrinthine, weathered caves that the play itself seems to echo—the production felt less like a performance and more like a homecoming.
The company played the material with a welcome lack of pretension. Their irreverent, light-hearted energy was a perfect match for the landscape. Staging the action in the Grand Valley was inspired, particularly with the statue of old Sir Rowland gesturing toward Soulton just above the actors. By leaning into the historical ties between Sir Rowland and Thomas Lodge, the performance was anchored in a tangible, local context. With those iconic caves as a backdrop, the moment Orlando mentions attending upon Duke Senior at dinner ceased to be a mere line of text; it became a local story being told in its proper place.
“My father loved Sir Rowland as his soul,
And all the world was of my father’s mind:”
Following the performance, it was a delight to welcome the cast to Soulton Hall. Seeing the company engage with these grounds—the very setting that research suggests helped shape the original work—added a unique layer of depth to their tour.
This event is the latest chapter in a broader revival across our landscape. It builds on the wonderful production by the Shropshire Youth Theatre at Soulton Hall earlier this year, which marked a historic milestone by bringing the play to the very geography that inspired its creation.
Grotto Hill Hawkstone
The motion recently passed by the Shropshire Council acts as a formal bridge between these moments. By acknowledging the deep literary connections between North Shropshire, Thomas Lodge’s Rosalynde, and the legacy of Sir Roland Hill, the council has elevated a local insight into a matter of public celebration.
The sequence of events—the Youth Theatre at the Hall, the council’s recognition, and now this spirited interpretation by The HandleBards—has created a cohesive narrative across the entire Soulton-Hawkstone corridor. We have moved the play out of the classroom and away from the traditional stage, rooting it firmly back in the earth that shaped it.
It is clear that we are seeing a shift in how this landscape is understood. The Soulton-Hawkstone corridor is no longer just a place of history and agriculture; it is becoming a recognized home for the living arts. We look forward to seeing how this connection continues to grow and how the story of this region keeps unfolding, one act at a time.
As You Like It at Hawkstone, being performed by Handle Bards
