Merry Wives - The Musical

Synopsis

Falstaff gets him come-uppance (three times) in this rather confused but at times immensely funny Shakespeare comedy - his only one about the middle classes. The story, almost certainly false, goes that Queen Elizabeth I so enjoyed the character of Falstaff that she asked to see him again in another play - in love. Shakespeare is supposed to have obliged with this delightful romp.

Our Review:

13 December 2006

It would take a churl, a very ‘dried pear’, to cavil at Gregory Doran’s musical adaptation of The Merry Wives of Windsor, which offers reasons enough ‘to be cheerful’. The play, reputedly written to order for Elizabeth I, ranks with Shakespeare’s slightest, while Falstaff, fat though he be, is but a shadow of the colossal creation, the force of nature, who bestrides Henry IV Parts I and II.

Simon Callow, making his RSC acting debut, following the withdrawal due to injury of Desmond Barrit, initially underwhelms. That voice is present and correct of course, and the art informing his performance is never in doubt, but he doesn’t seem to loom over the proceedings as he ought.

And then you remember that the Falstaff of the history plays is not present here. That Falstaff would never be so gulled and Callow’s performance, shaped at short notice, seems even more admirable. This is soft-focus England, something hinted at in [Stephen Brimson Lewis...

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Latest User Review

81.151.177.65) - 21 January 2007:

Good fun but nothing brilliant. Well cast, entertaining sets, costumes and above average music. However, the plot of the first half is too complicated for a light hearted musical and there are simply too many characters. That said, the second half is much tighter. Decent seasonal fun but the history cycle next door is of a much better quality....

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