AS YOU LIKE IT: FROM SHAKESPEARE STORIES

Writers who adapt Shakespeare’s plays for a younger audience risk offending purists, but this production of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, set in the Forest of Arden, will please listeners of all ages and levels of literary experience. It includes elegant synopses of the Bard’s intricate plot twists while preserving his inspired dialogue word for word. Clare Higgins, a British actress with a particularly pleasing voice, showcases the work beautifully. As one who has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Higgins brings dramatic insights to her narration while expertly threading together the many strands of Shakespeare’s boisterous identity-switching comedy. The production is further enhanced by interludes of Elizabethan music and a short introduction to Shakespeare’s work that listeners of all ages will enjoy. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2010]