THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR - REVIEW OF 2024 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Merry Wives of Windsor is not one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies and it may not be one of his best. But in the right hands it can be wildly entertaining and made into a portrait of a community, be it modern or of any age. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) does just that with its hilarious and beautiful production of the play at the Festival Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon.

The production is directed by Blanche McIntyre who finds or invents humour at every turn of the text giving us a hilarious and wonderful evening or afternoon at the theatre.

The Merry Wives has several interwoven plots starting with the great Sir John Falstaff attempting to seduce two Windsor housewives, Meg Page (Samantha Spiro) and Alice Ford (Siubhan Harrison). He sends an identical letter to both seeking an assignation. They tell each other and plan to take revenge on the foolish, fat Knight. He ends up being thrown into the Thanes River from a huge laundry bucket.

In the meantime, Alice’s jealous husband Frank Ford disguises himself as a stranger called Brook, “befriends” Falstaff and tries to confirm his wife’s nonexistent infidelity by sharing secrets with his would-be cuckolder.

Moving on, the pretty Anne Page (Tara Tijani) is in love with Fenton (John Leader) but her mother wants her to marry the pompous French dentist Dr. Caius (Jason Thorpe) while her father George wants her to wed Slender (Patrick Walshe McBride) the foolish nephew of Justice Shallow (John Dougall) and let’s see how that will work out. 

Mistress Meg Page, Sir John Falstaff, Mistress Alice Ford. 

Photo by Manuel Harlan

The fun comes from superb acting, meticulously and imaginatively directed. John Hodgkinson as Falstaff in a three-piece suit can get a laugh with a simple look. He makes us roar when he shows reluctance to get in the laundry hamper then leaps into it when he senses imminent danger with the arrival of a jealous husband.

Spiro and Harrison are spirited, and attractive woman and we love watching them plot their revenge on Falstaff.  Ian Hughes is hilarious as Sir Hugh Evans, the Welsh parson. A minor role like that of Slender gets broad laughs with his awkwardness, speech mangling and stupidity.

Dr. Caius is made into a dentist and his French accent and pomposity are hilarious in the hands of Jason Thorpe. The famous Mistress Quickly (Shazia Nicolls) is Dr. Caius’s housekeeper but she takes on the role of a matchmaker shamelessly and wonderfully acting for all sides. Yasemin Ozdemir plays Falstaff’s servant Nym with distinction; she wore  the jersey of Harry 

Kane the captain of the English soccer  team on the eve of the Euro cup final in Berlin. Patriotism was in the air but unfortunately England lost to Spain the following day.

One of the hallmarks of the RSC is ensemble acting and McIntyre applies that to perfection. but she goes even further. She wants the merry wives and the rest to represent a village or a community. From the opening scene where a group of boisterous people appear on the stage to people walking across the stage during the performance we see a community. We are led into joining a song and made a part of the suburb.

The production is done in modern dress. The floor of the stage is green and a revolving house is flanked by green hedges. The structure becomes a house becomes, The Garter pub, the interior of a house and the outdoors as necessary. Furniture and people are brought center stage through a trap door. Kudos to set and costume designer Rober Innes Hopkins.

And a standing ovation to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

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The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare continues until September 7, 2024, at the Festival Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England. www.rsc.org.uk

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press