Shropshire Youth Theatre brings ‘As You Like It’ – ARDEN ’94: SOULTON HOMECOMING

The Forest of Arden is returning to its roots. It is a matter of documented history that the foundations of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedy are buried deep in the Shropshire soil. Without the influence of Soulton, the play as we know it could not exist. More than anywhere else on earth, this landscape and the lives lived upon it inspired the Bard’s vision.

[Book Tickets Now for the Soulton Homecoming]

Shropshire Youth Theatre is bringing As You Like It home to Soulton Hall—not as a relic of the past, but as a living, breathing celebration of our own culture.

As the company officially announces:

“Shropshire Youth Theatre’s (SYT) senior production company, Shrewsbury Youth Theatre have the great honour to present for their first appearance at Soulton Hall, our unique staging of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Brought forward to 1994, this fresh and original take on his classic work reframes the Forest of Arden as the site of a free party, where the exiled court finds new hope and new revelry in the freedom and exhilaration of rave culture. Here, Rosalind, disguised as a young man named Ganymede, tests the love of Orlando while also making her own journey of self-discovery.”

A Living Heritage

This outdoor performance honors the 16th-century traditions of Soulton Hall, the home of the monumental statesman Sir Rowland Hill—a cousin of Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden.

Shakespare in Epidaurus Court, Soulton Hall (British Touring Shakespare, 2025, MSND)

While the history is ancient, the creative direction belongs to Shropshire’s youth. Reimagining the forest through the lens of 1994, the cast transforms the woods into a site of sanctuary and radical joy, mirroring the energy of 90s music culture to find freedom in exile.

The Soulton Connection

The ties between this ground and the play are definitive:

• The Moral Anchor: Sir Rowland Hill, builder of Soulton AHll is memorialized in the drama as “Old Sir Rowland,” the play’s moral father-figure.

• The Source Material: Property deeds establish that the play’s primary source, Rosalynde (1590), was written by Thomas Lodge. As his father held the manor of Soulton, Lodge was a “son of Soulton,” anchoring the story’s origins to this specific house.

• The Sanctuary: In the 1550s, the Soulton woods served as a real-world sanctuary during a political emergency—a context identical to the action of the play.

The Dance of Harmony

The play’s resolution, a “Dance of Harmony,” finds its physical twin in the Soulton Pavement. This encoded floor represents a historic search for social order and a dance toward peace, echoing the resolution found in the Forest of Arden.

Performance Details

• Shrewsbury Preview: Walker Theatre, Theatre Severn | 24–26 March 2026

• The Homecoming Performance: Soulton Hall (Outdoors) | 08 May 2026 at 18:30

Tickets for the Soulton event are available via the [Soulton Hall Website], while tickets for the Shrewsbury preview can be found via the Theatre Severn box office.

This production is kindly supported by the Co-op, Virtual Shropshire, and MA Creative.

This is our story, directed and told by our youth, on Shropshire ground.

Poster for the SYT As You Like It performance 2026