Everyone fantasises at some point about living an entirely different life from the one they have ended up with. In Mark Thomson's production of As You Like It, that dream becomes a reality. Seldom has a Forest of Arden seemed quite so benignly transforming as the one offered here by Gregory Smith's design, a tastefully calming disc arrangement in oatmeal and hessian tones around which everyone lazily lolls bare-footed on sheepskin hummocks. It is all very Glastonbury, but without the mud.
If this Arden is a new age nirvana of second chances, dangling the possibility of discovering the transforming power of love - and the real self - within, then the court of the usurping duke is a nasty, black-and-chrome, hi-tech hell. Thompson's production not only takes some textual liberties, but in the opening scenes runs the risk of flicking from gimmick to gimmick in its desperation to point up the play's contemporary relevance. The design, which is so obtrusive that it gets a round of applause, may not be in the best service of the play.
Fortunately, once we get to Arden and stay there, things look up - for us, as well as for Emma Cunniffe's sparky Rosalind and Eilidh Macdonald's cheeky Celia. both of whom have the unaffected, giggly glee of girls relishing the opportunity to play-act. You get the sense that this is a Rosalind whose experience of wearing the trousers will continue once she is back in girlish garb and married to Orlando, played by Donald Pirie like a very serious puppy.
There are some nice touches in this strongly cast evening, including some excellent and distinctive playing of the minor roles. Thomson's production may initially irritate, but even the most cynical theatre-goer should fall for its potent optimism and its belief that, given the chance, we will all choose the very best part of ourselves.
· Until October 15. Box office: 0131-248 4848.
