Review: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, Shakespeare’s Globe
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff’s return following requests in Shakespeare’s time, is not often seen these days. Perhaps this is because the character of Falstaff seems very different in this play to that seen in Henry IV, or perhaps because the complications of the plot can be difficult to follow, with two very similar couples.
That complicated plot is made much easier to follow in the new production at Shakespeare’s Globe, thanks to designer Grace Smart, who has not just clothed the Globe in fabric but has also colour-coded the main characters. We soon realise that the yellow highlighted characters are the Page household, and the darker green belongs to the Fords. Other key characters have their colours too, from Falstaff’s red to Fenton’s maroon. It may sound very Teletubbies but it actually works very well.
Those costumes are Elizabethan, although with what resembles William Morris patterns, and are as well made and interesting as is almost always the case at the Globe. Having dealt with some of the plot confusion, Sean Holmes’ production focuses in particular on the many changes of costume and character in this play, linked as it is (according to a fascinating article in the programme) to the influence of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The two couples are well played with sufficient use of accent and other differences to avoid any confusion between them. Although it is often the wives whose performances are most memorable, in this production it is Christopher Logan as a sardonic and dismissive Page and Jolyon Coy as a bewigged and conceited Ford who linger in the memory. This is not to suggest that the wives are any less well played, with Emma Pallant as a besmitten Mistress Page and Katherine Pearce a rather more severe but conniving Mistress Ford.
Around these characters, a small cast provide some larger than life portrayals of the citizens and ruling class in Windsor, the point also being made in the programme that, uniquely, all levels of society feature in this play. Among those playing perhaps two or even three parts, Danielle Phillips is a sparky Robin, Sophie Russell inhabits Shallow and Mistress Quickly (perhaps the first time those two parts have been doubled), and L J Parkinson is a convivial, conniving and always audible Host. The same is not true of all the cast, and the excellent music (composed by Frew) is so loud as to drown out many sung words.
Perhaps the performances most enjoyed by the audience, sweltering in the continued heat of the evening, were Samuel Creasey as a very demonstrative Welsh tutor, Hugh Evans and Adam Wadsworth as the most French of suitors as Dr Caius (and who also gives us a nicely grotesque Slender). Their performances totally fit the style of this production, based on falsehood, seeming and disguise. By comparison, as Falstaff, George Fouracres gives a convincing but essentially downbeat portrayal of a lost man, drowning in disappointment. It’s a clever and subtle portrayal, and totally convinces on its own, but seems slightly out of step with the tenor of the production as a whole.
The constant changing of position of the stewards in hi-vis jackets around the auditorium is also even more distracting for the audience than the occasional police helicopter overhead. The scene with the fairies at the end, here more Wicker Man than Spenser, also seems something of a disappointment, perhaps due to the difficulties of having a small cast.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a colourful and often diverting romp which will liven up many a summer evening at the Globe, and brings fresh insights to this rarely seen play.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Chris Abbott
The Merry Wives of Windsor plays at Shakespeare’s Globe until 20 September, with further info here.
