Volu m e I - Purdue University Calumet

hint of red at his lapels. Two of his courtiers have covered faces, implying that they are faceless creatures
that have no identities of their own, creatures that exist only to do their master’s bidding. They are exactly
the same in every way—not individual people, but mechanisms in the efficient machine that their court has
become. A third man has the head of a wolf, conveying the idea that this court is a predatory entity. The
audience could infer that this polity uses this wolfish aspect of its nature to hunt down all opposition, and
because wolves are not known to treat their quarry kindly once caught, this idea conveys a very stark image
of brutality.
Secondly, the stage business that McAnuff implements in this production helps to emphasize the
inhumanely brutal nature of this court. Frederick’s own actions on stage help to convey the complete
absence of compassion in his personality. He barely spares a glance for Charles when he is thrown by
Orlando. The new duke is obviously completely unconcerned with his champion wrestler's wellbeing,
despite his pleasure in watching the blood-sport that Charles has conducted for his entertainment. Soon
after the wrestling match, Frederick intrudes on Celia and Rosalind in what appears to be a bath-house
when he wants to banish Rosalind. The women are only covered with towels, and yet he has no regard for
the impropriety of the situation and will not wait until the women have gotten dressed before he makes his
harsh demands. Of course, this seems fitting, given that he cares nothing for the women's feelings (as can be
inferred from his banishment of Rosalind). Similarly, when it becomes known that Celia and Rosalind have
vanished, the members of Duke Frederick's court, presumably acting on the orders of Frederick himself,
are extremely rough with the ladies' waiting-woman, as though their disappearance was her fault. The men
walk with their usual military precision in their step, staring stoically forward, completely blind to the
woman’s distress. They hold her tightly by the arm, virtually dragging her as she stumbles along trying to
keep up with them. This scene is very brief—it lasts only as long as it takes for the men to drag the woman
across the back of the stage, behind the furiously shouting Frederick—but nevertheless, this episode adds to
the mounting evidence of Frederick’s cruelty.
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