When Phoebe Kemp first heard that Elliot Page might open their latest production, they didn’t quite believe it.
‘It still seems very, very surreal to me,’ they say, laughing. ‘We were like, “Ha, that’ll never happen.” And then he said yes.’
That ‘yes’ marks a major moment not just for Kemp, but for Trans What You Will theatre company, the grassroots group dedicated to staging William Shakespeare with all-trans and non-binary casts.
This July, their most ambitious project yet arrives: a production of As You Like It at The Space Theatre, running 22–24 July and livestreamed globally, with Page introducing the premiere from New York.
It follows a breakout debut last year, when a rehearsed reading of Twelfth Night, opened by Ian McKellen, sold over 2,300 tickets and raised thousands for trans charity Not a Phase. What began as a small, community-rooted project has since expanded internationally, including a Barcelona performance and a New York livestream.
Kemp’s approach to As You Like It goes beyond placing trans performers into a familiar Shakespearean structure. Instead, it reshapes the emotional logic of the play itself.
‘In a lot of interpretations, Rosalind can be seen as non-binary,’ they explain. ‘But when everyone is trans and non-binary, it stops being like, “Oh, Rosalind is the odd one out.” It becomes a community journey.’
Kemp uses the play’s two settings — a rigid court and the liberating forest — to explore an experience familiar to many LGBTQ+ people.
‘The court world is very restrictive, you’re expected to be a certain way,’ Kemp says. ‘And the forest is where you find freedom, where you find community. That’s a journey a lot of trans people experience, being told what to be, and then discovering other ways of being.’
In this version, that journey is shared across the entire cast. ‘Every character realises there’s another way to be in the world,’ they add. ‘It’s a shared experience.’
The production is intentionally stripped back: a script-in-hand performance without traditional sets or costumes, where meaning is built through sound, movement and collective presence.
Kemp describes a sonic contrast between the two worlds. ‘The court may be very quiet — maybe strict, individual voices. And the forest is where we have music, close harmonies, communal singing.’
Movement becomes part of that language too. ‘The court might be on a grid, very structured. The forest more circular, more fluid.’
Not everything in the text sits comfortably, and Kemp is candid about the challenges.
‘Some of the language — especially around women — can feel reductive or even misogynistic,’ they say. ‘We’re figuring out how to approach that.’
There are also structural constraints, with certain roles needing to align with specific genders for key plot points to land. ‘There are moments where Shakespeare’s view of gender and sexuality is restrictive,’ Kemp admits.
Creative dilemmas remain as well. ‘There’s a really intense closeness between Rosalind and Celia that could read as queer — but they’re cousins. So it’s like… do we lean into that or not? I haven’t decided yet.’
Rather than trying to resolve these tensions, Kemp is interested in sitting with them and letting the contradictions remain visible.
But despite all the growing attention from Page’s involvement, Kemp is keen to keep the company grounded.
‘The connection with The Space is really important,’ they say. ‘It’s not the West End. It’s community-focused.’
That ethos extends beyond the stage, with a dedicated matinee for LGBTQ+ under-25s, workshops with young people, and ongoing support for other trans artists through the company’s work.
‘There are so many trans and non-binary creatives,’ Kemp says. ‘But the doors aren’t always open.’
They recall a moment before last year’s performance of Twelfth Night: ‘We paused and said, “Everyone in this room is trans.” That doesn’t happen very often.’
At the heart of the project is a focus on joy, and Kemp is very clear that joy can be as politically provocative as stories of trans pain.
‘It’s getting harder to be trans in the UK and globally,’ Kemp says, referencing increasing legal and social pressures. ‘A lot of the stories we hear are about trauma,which is important. But it doesn’t have to be the only story.’
Instead, As You Like It opens up space for: ‘Joy, play, freedom,’ they say. ‘Showing that we’re diverse, that transness doesn’t look one way. That we deserve to exist without constantly fighting.’
They continue, saying: ‘Hopefully there’s a weight that lifts when everyone in the room is trans or non-binary,’ they say. ‘And then we can share that with the world and go: why not this?’
Kemp is proud of the company’s growing reputation, though cautious about labels like ‘landmark’.
‘I want us to be “first, but not only”,’ they say. ‘This should just be something that happens.’
Performers from last year’s production have already moved on to major institutions like the RSC. For Kemp, that kind of progression is the real legacy: opening doors.
Asked what they hope audiences take away, the answer is simple: ‘The brilliance and diversity of trans people,’ they say. ‘That we are as multiple as anyone else.’
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