Popular Bermuda Festival favourite, the Aquila Theatre Company, returns to City Hall stage this evening to present the first of two performances of one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, 'As You Like It'.

On Saturday evening, it will conclude its Bermuda run with a one-off performance of Henrik Ibsen's classic, 'An Enemy of the People'.

Curtain time for all performances is 8 p.m.

Long admired as one of Shakespeare's most exuberant dark comedies, 'As You Like It' is also quite arguably the most difficult to follow. Full of cross-dressing, mistaken identity, and covert games of romantic hide-and-seek, it can get confusing, but the Aquila Theatre Company presents a reinterpretation of the classic in a way which is both relevant and accessible to the modern audience whilst remaining faithful to Shakespeare.

The play is a sharply written and witty piece containing phrases which have become part of the English lexicon, such as "too much of a good thing," and "motley fool" - not to mention one of Shakespeare's greatest monologues uttered by Jacques, the moody, cynical Hamlet-like figure, which begins, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players…"

Like nearly all of Shakespeare's work, 'As You Like It' is constructed of strong enough material to be transposed to almost any era and setting. Many in the Bermuda audience will no doubt be able to relate. It is a pastoral romance in which the characters, hopeful of "a better world than this", escape the trials and tribulations of court (read: modern/city) life in search of a more simple and rewarding idyllic (read: island) life, either through their own choice or forced exile. It is in that exile that the characters find out who they really are, and most are refined in the struggle.

Critics have hailed Aquila as "an inventive and disciplined outfit", and its production of 'As You Like It' as "a superb production…worthwhile and exceptionally rewarding".

Using little in the way of set pieces or props, and taking some liberties with the original text, the production puts great emphasis on physical acting, combined with razor-sharp line delivery.

Director Kenn Saberton employs his seven seemingly inexhaustible cast members to bring nearly 20 characters to life. Indeed, some actors take on as many as eight parts.

In welcoming the Aquila Theatre Company back to the Bermuda Festival, aficionados and newcomers alike are guaranteed a fine evening of theatre.

¦ For ticket information see websites www.bermudafestival.org or www.bdatix.bm For ticket purchases only telephone 232-2255. For general information about the Festival telephone 232-8499. For in-person ticket purchases, visit BDATIX ticket centres at: the iStore, 46 Reid Street, Hamilton (open Monday to Saturday 9 am to 5 pm), and Fabulous Fashions, Heron Bay Plaza, Southampton (open Monday to Thursday 10 am to 5 pm.).