As You Like It is Shakespeare’s warm and witty comedy of love, disguise and escape, staged in the open air at Shakespeare’s Globe as part of the 2026 summer season. When Rosalind is banished from her uncle’s court, she flees to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man, and there the ordinary rules of the world begin to fall away.
In the freedom of the forest, exiles and lovers cross paths, wit sparkles and romance takes hold, in a play that gives us some of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines, including “All the world’s a stage.” This production is co-directed by the Globe’s Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine, who also plays Orlando, with Lola Shalam as Rosalind and Gracie Oddie-James as Celia.
Playing in the open-air Globe Theatre on Bankside, the production runs as part of the summer season from August to October 2026.
Why it’s worth the watch
Shakespeare’s sunniest comedy staged in the open air at the theatre built for his plays.
- Rosalind’s wit. One of Shakespeare’s greatest heroines drives the play, disguised as a young man and running rings around everyone in the forest.
- The Globe itself. Watching in the open-air, timber-framed playhouse on Bankside brings you about as close to Elizabethan playgoing as it gets.
- A directing double act. Sean Holmes and Charlie Josephine co-direct, with Josephine also taking the role of Orlando.
- Lines you already know. This is the play that gives us All the world’s a stage and other phrases woven into everyday English.
