Vanessa Redgrave stars as Rosalind in this television presentation of a celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company stage production.
Rosalind (Vanessa Redgrave), the daughter of an unjustly exiled duke, is herself banished from court by her tyrannical uncle, Duke Frederick (Tony Church). She flees to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man named Ganymede, accompanied by her loyal cousin Celia (Rosalind Knight) and the court jester Touchstone (Patrick Wymark). In the forest, they encounter a community of fellow exiles, including the melancholic lord Jaques (Max Adrian). Also hiding in the woods is the handsome Orlando (Patrick Allen), who has escaped the murderous plotting of his elder brother, Oliver (David Buck). When Ganymede meets the lovesick Orlando, she offers to cure him of his infatuation with the very woman she is pretending not to be, leading to a witty and intricate game of romantic education.
This broadcast preserves Michael Elliott’s landmark Royal Shakespeare Company production, a version built around Vanessa Redgrave’s celebrated interpretation of Rosalind. Director Ronald Eyre does not attempt to disguise the presentation’s theatrical origins; instead, he uses the intimacy of the camera to focus on the nuance of the performances, particularly Redgrave’s luminous and intelligent command of the role. She is supported by a formidable RSC ensemble, including Max Adrian’s definitive melancholic Jaques and Ian Richardson as the courtier Le Beau. The result is less a cinematic adaptation and more a valuable piece of theatrical record, capturing a pivotal moment in the history of the RSC for a national audience.
Broadcast: BBC, 1 Episode, 22 March 1963
Written by: William Shakespeare
Producer: Michael Elliott
Director: Ronald Eyre
Designer: Richard Negri
Music by: George Hall
Main Cast: Vanessa Redgrave (Rosalind), Patrick Allen (Orlando), Rosalind Knight (Celia), Patrick Wymark (Touchstone), Max Adrian (Jaques), David Buck (Oliver), Ian Richardson (Le Beau), Tony Church (Duke Frederick), Paul Hardwick (Duke Senior), Patsy Byrne (Audrey), Jeanne Hepple (Phebe), Peter Gill (Silvius)
