From our Blogway Baby London correspondent, Norm Seli:

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REVIEW: As You Like It

As You Like It -- set in 1940s Paris (well, outside in the forest mostly)...with wonderful music provided by Cello, Bass, Flute and Accordion...very Paris, 1946.

First some background: Sienna Miller (with whom Jude Law sleeps when he's not on the billiard table with the nanny) had been panned for her "wooden performance" as Celia when this production opened in spring. Then, in June, Helen McCrory collapsed between a matinee and evening performance. Sienna stepped into the role that night... having never rehearsed or prepared as understudy for the role of Rosalind. She nailed it. Great headlines and joy abounding.

Well -- I'm guessing that that was what she needed -- because having just seen the show in August, Sienna Miller is terrific. Helen McCrory is the star and she is just glorious as Rosalind -- but their scenes together are just musical and energetic. Their words seem so completely spontaneous, it's hard to imagine that they are speaking in iambic pentameter. I could find no fault in any of the performances on this evening. The sets were simple, but clever. Good use of dark and shadow. I loved the live music that carried us in and out. Provided for sung choruses and entertained.

The fools were all grand and foolish and the "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players" soliloquy was delivered without cliche. I don't recall ever seeing better production of a Shakespearean comedy. Yes, I had shared a bottle of champagne before and during the show...but it did not dull my senses. It was my wife's favorite show of the week, and she enjoyed all the others. (Just a quick note...God Bless the English who let you drink in your seat during the show...)

Lots of faces in the cast that you would recognize from movies and BBC productions...

In short: All the World's a stage...and I saw it all go by this evening. Sienna Miller was excellent, overshadowed only by Helen McCrory. Everybody else lived up to the promise and bar set by these two terrific actors.

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