MERRY WIVES THE MUSICAL till 10 February
MERRY WIVES THE MUSICAL: from William Shakespeare, Adapted by Gregory Doran, Music by Paul Englishby, Lyrics by Ranjit Bolt
RSC, Main House, Stratford Upon Avon - part of the Complete Works Festival
Runs: 3h, one interval, till Sat 10 February 2007
Review: Rod Dungate, 12 December 2006
I loved it
Want a thoroughly good evening (or afternoon) out? A gorgeous, intelligent, marvellously performed romp around Shakespeare? Finger-clicking, foot-tapping Bard? Then this is for you.
MERRY WIVES is an unusual play for Shakespeare. It’s the only middle-class domestic comedy and it’s set fairly and squarely in (middle-class) Windsor. The two main men (Ford and Page) earn the dosh while their wives show us how clever they, the women, are – and how they teach their men a salutary lesson in trust. The mainest man – Sir John Falstaff, himself – is an upper-class lay-about and is the victim of the middle classes, though they forgive him at the end.
It’s a simple story and one that is warmingly good natured – even the Welsh preacher has a lot going for him.
The three women at the centre of the story, Mistresses Page, Ford and Quickly (Haydn Gwynne, Alexandra Gilbreath, Judi Dench) are terrific. On their own they lovely but together they are electric. The women have created an energetic spirit of fun between them and it’s highly infectious. What a delight, too, to see Judi Dench in this great comedy role, she looks as if she’s having a ball.
Simon Callow hooks on a deal of weight for the play; he carries it as if he’s lived with it for years. He brings a true sense of long-departed good breeding to the part and mines to the full each comedic nuance.
This is a strong ensemble company. However, I particularly liked Ian Hughes’s plucky Welsh parson Sir Hugh Evans and Alistair McGowan’s Frank Ford – marvellous in disguise. Good to see talented Simon Trinder back at the RSC (Abraham Slender); he makes comedy look so easy. Jeffrey Dench (Robert Shallow) has you giggling whenever he appears.
Lively and witty musical score by Paul Englishby; super close to the first half, THE BUCKBASKET, and show-stopping second half hoe-down, MERRY WIVES, replete with kitchen utensils and other domestic paraphernalia. The forest scene, a dangerous area of the play, is beautifully staged here, in Gregory Doran’s accomplished production.
Sir John Falstaff: Simon Callow
Bardolph: Ian Pirie
Nym: Ian Conningham
Pistol: Brendan O’Hea
Robin: Matt Cross
Robert Shallow: Jeffrey Dench
Abraham Slender: Simon Trinder
Peter Simple: Tobias Beer
George Page: Rob Edwards
Mistress Page: Haydn Gwynne
Anne Page: Scarlett Strallen
Frank Ford: Alistair McGowan
Mistress Ford: Alexandra Gilbreath
Sir Hugh Evans: Ian Hughes
Host of the Garter Inn: Robert Burt
Dr Caius: Paul Chahidi
Jack Rugby: Christopher Colley
Mistress Quickly: Judi Dench
Fenton: Martin Crewes
Robert: Simon Thomas
John: Dominic Colchester
Maids: Mary Doherty, Anna Lowe, Lisa Thorner
Children: Callum Ainslie, Nathaniel Barber, James Burman, Cian Cheesbrough, Daniel Ciotkowski, Jeremy Franklin
or
Louis Hamblett, Harry Heap, Sam Pigott, William Savage, Hamish Watson, Jojo Wheatley
Adapted and Directed by: Gregory Doran
designed by: Stephen Brimson Lewis
Lighting by: Tim Mitchell
Orchestrations by: Paul Englishby
Sound by: Paul Groothuis
Choreographer: Michael Ashcroft
Music Director: Bruce O'Neil
Assistant Choreographer: Heather Habens
Fights: Terry King
2006-12-13 14:59:34