The RSC announces full cast to join Samantha Spiro in The Merry Wives of Windsor

The RSC has confirmed complete casting for its forthcoming production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Blanche McIntyre.

Shakespeare’s suburban comedy is set to run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 5 June until 7 September, with a press night scheduled for 12 June.

McIntyre commented: “The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of Shakespeare’s most underrated plays. Its mixture of comedy and vulnerability foreshadows great writers such as Alan Ayckbourn, and its farcical set pieces are the forerunners of classic sitcom. I’m setting the play in a contemporary small town, as I think its gossipy lack of privacy, its suburban values and its overheated town politics are timeless. I’ve wanted to direct The Merry Wives of Windsor for a long time, and I am delighted to be working on it with the sensational company we’ve assembled.”

Joining previously announced Samantha Spiro (Sex Education) as Mistress Meg Page will be Siubhan Harrison (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) as Mistress Alice Ford, John Hodgkinson (Dear England) as Sir John Falstaff, and Richard Goulding (The Windsors) as Frank Ford.

Completing the company are Jessica Alade (as Simple), Omar Bynon (as Pistol), John Dougall (as Shallow), Riess Fennell (as Robert/Student), Emily Houghton (as Host of the Garter), Ian Hughes (as Sir Hugh Evans), Wil Johnson (as George Page), Yasemin Junqueira (as Student), John Leader (as Fenton), David Mara (as Rugby), Tadeo Martinez (as Robin), Shazia Nicholls (as Mistress Quickly), Yasemin Özdemir (as Nym), David Partridge (as Bardolph/John), Jason Thorpe (as Dr Caius), Tara Tijani (as Anne Page) and Patrick Walshe McBride (Slender).

Alongside McIntyre, the creative team also includes Robert Innes Hopkins (set and costume designer), Malcolm Rippeth (lighting designer), Tim Sutton (composer), Emma Laxton (sound designer), Ingrid Mackinnon (movement director), Philip d’Orleans (fight director) and Matthew Dewsbury (casting director).

The Merry Wives of Windsor will play in repertoire with The School for Scandal (2 July to 6 September), with some of the cast set to appear in both productions. Casting for The School for Scandal will be revealed shortly.

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