It is a rare thing to feel history directly underfoot, yet watching The Whole Pack Theatre return to the Epidaurus Court for a second homecoming felt completely aligned with the landscape.
As You Like It brought to Soulton by Whole Pack
With Soulton Wood standing quietly on the horizon behind the performance, the line between the text and the setting seemed to vanish.
While the production featured a magnificent performance by Megan Carter as Rosalind, who held the space with radiant intelligence and warmth, something extraordinary happened through the choice of an all-female cast.
It brought the vulnerability—and eventual transformation—of Orlando into a sharp, striking light.
Pulling back conventional physical posturing, we were forced to look closely at poor Orlando.
He is held captive and silenced, while those who mistreat him derive an unseemly mirth from their abuse.
Bullied by his brother, denied his place, cheated of his inheritance, and isolated, the gender reversal did not soften his persecution; it laid it bare. We saw a young man pushed to the margins, a shrunk shank of a figure struggling simply to exist under the weight of cruel mockery.
Yet, as the afternoon unfolded, the true heart of the performance became his rise into true nobility.
Orlando did not simply endure or recover; he broke through that enforced silence and grew in confidence, claiming his place with quiet courage and genuine leadership. He stepped fully into his father’s legacy, guiding others through the woods and standing tall until his oppressors were ultimately vanquished and brought into reconciliation. As Orlando himself proclaims:
“The spirit of my father grows strong in me.”
Watching that courageous blossoming take place on the very soil tied to the memory of “Old Sir Rowland” brought a deep emotional resonance to the whole afternoon. Concluding near the historic Dancing Pavement, the production reminded us that this place was always built to host stories of transformation, freedom, and joy. The Whole Pack Theatre has brought us a second homecoming that feels both true to the history of Soulton and wonderfully fresh.
