The Merry Wives of Windsor
is a pleasant suburban comedy that can be amusing in an ordinary production or
quite hilarious with the right director and first class actors. With Artistic
Director Antoni Cimolino directing the production, we can reasonably expect
some of the Stratford Festival’s best people in the cast and our expectations
are fulfilled.
The upgrade from amusing to
hilarious falls squarely in the hands of the director. The production displays
Cimolino’s creative talent and inventive imagination and the result is an
evening of full-hearted laughter.
Cimolino sets the play in a small
town around 1950, more or less familiar territory to everyone, directly or
indirectly. The town is pleasantly alive with children skipping rope and
playing, women going to the beauty parlor, men going to the barber or the bar
and presenting a wonderful atmosphere.
When it comes to provoking
laughter, Cimolino does not miss a trick. There are double-takes and pratfalls,
of course. When Falstaff tells the duped husband Ford (who pretends to be
Brooke) how he hid in his house, he wipes his crotch with a towel and throws it
on Ford’s head. It is hilarious and one of numerous directorial inventions that
keep the laughs coming frequently without direct help from the text.
Geraint Wyn Davies is a riotous
Falstaff. The braggart, the sponger, the would-be seducer of two upstanding
wives of Windsor, can make us laugh with his ridiculous ambitions, his setbacks
and humiliations. He is a scoundrel and we love him.
He has amusing if not faithful cronies
in Bardolph (David Collins), Nym (Farhang Ghajar) and Pistol (Randy Hughson).
You should see their 1950’s chic haircuts! But he also has powerful adversaries
in the smart women of Windsor, Mrs. Ford (Sophia Walker) and Mrs. Page (Brigit
Wilson). Sporting 1950’s suburban high fashion and intuitive intelligence, they
plot sweet revenge on Falstaff and a lesson in the evils of jealousy on Mr.
Ford (a hilarious Graham Abbey).
Watching Ford as Brooke reacting
to Falstaff’s narrative of attempting to seduce Mrs. Ford is an absolute gem of
comedy.
Ben Carlson is a riot as the
pedantic Welsh parson and teacher and like Gordon S. Miller as the ridiculous
Dr. Caius, he seems to be having as much fun as he is transmitting to the
audience. Remember Miller was the evil Iago a few days ago? Michael Blake who
shone as Othello earlier in the week shows that he can handle a comic role as
Mr. Page.
Michael Blake (left) as Mr. Page and Graham Abbey as Mr.
Ford. Photo: David Hou.
Michael Spencer-Davis as Justice
Shallow is well matched with Jamie Mac as his nephew Slender. We get the
foolish justice and his even sillier sidekick who wants to marry the lovely
Anne Page (Shruti Kothari). So does Dr. Caius but she will outwit everyone and
marry her love Fenton (Mike Shara). What’s comedy if the young can’t outsmart
the old?
Lucy Peacock gets the relatively
minor role of Miss Quickly, Dr. Caius’s housekeeper and confidante of Anne
Page. We remember the character better as Mistress Quickly, the inn keeper with
tortuous English and quick at something. Peacock gets an easy night and we know
she is one of the best.
The set by Julie Fox shows an
indication of a Tudor house but it can be anywhere in a small town. There is an
emphasis on beds and getting in and out of them for obvious comic reasons.
A great night at the theatre.
_________________
The Merry Wives of
Windsor by William Shakespeare opened on June 1 and will play in
repertory until October 26, 2019 at the Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca
James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press. www.greekpress.ca
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