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This crowd-pleasing As You Like It continues the Globe’s golden summer of productions. A light comic touch is brought to Shakespeare’s complex tale of sibling rivalry, exile, self-discovery, resolution and romance that juxtaposes the court with a locale hard to pin down exactly, which is key to its magic and charm. Central to everything is Rosalind, played with wit and warmth by Lola Shalam, who falls for mutually smitten Orlando (Charlie Josephine, co-directing here with Sean Holmes), whose wrestling match with Charles (Jurell Carter) has induced banishment by cruel brother Oliver (Thomas Joslin). Rosalind, now disguised as boy-Ganymede, follows her love to the forest of Arden with beloved cousin Celia / Aliena (Gracie Oddie-James). The girls’ sparky chemistry is augmented by their travelling companion, wise-fool Touchstone, played with joyful cherubic exuberance by Jonnie Broadbent. A colour-burst 16th- to 18th-century blend of courtly costuming functions in a transhistorical way to offset the pastel palette of Arden, inhabited by outcasts such as Duke Senior (Rosalind’s father)—estranged by cruel brother Frederick (Celia’s father)—yet, like shepherd Corin, finding a simpler world here. All three roles are played with individual aplomb by Colm Gormley. Meanwhile, Katherine Pearce is a pleasing Jaques, who wanders the forest in a state of philosophical melancholy. And in his Globe debut, Busa Wickramasuriya as lovelorn Silvius, pining for Phoebe (Molly Madigan), has a fine gift for comedy, as does Phoebe Naughton’s Audrey. As for sound, in Shakespeare’s most musical play, the input of Katie Richardson—composer, musical director and one of five onstage performers—provides accompaniment with verve and vigour. The aural percussion of overhead planes is now part of the outdoor playhouse experience: the players ad-lib to accommodate and the audience warmly appreciates. But special mention to Peter Bourke here, an exemplar in voice projection as Old Adam, Orlando’s companion through the forest who symbolises the interplay between age and youth, one captured in Jaques' famous "All the world’s a stage" contemplation. The Globe’s original practice of minimal staging is vivified by an ingenious backdrop where the forest comes to life in real time, progressing from branch to leaf to bloom. Simple but effective. Against this foil, Rosalind / Ganymede orchestrates her complicated devices that lead to sunny resolutions. When, in the text, Celia says that ‘was’ is not ‘is’, we are reminded that going back is fruitless. We can only go forward but, if lucky, we may find a liminal spot in which to pause and recalibrate. With a glass in hand, and as shadows lengthen, let’s stay in dappled Arden for a bit longer.