• The Merry Wives of Windsor (EdFringe)

The Merry Wives of Windsor (EdFringe)
Mon 14 August to Sat 19 August 2017

6 performances
theSpace @ Niddry St (v9), United Kingdom

It's 1956, when men slayed business on the golf course and women had the dinner waiting. Sir John Falstaff is past-his-prime and down on his luck but his need for quick cash and gross underestimation of these (not so desperate) housewives has hilarious results! Watch as Mistress Page and Mistress Ford exact their revenge through a rousing story of hilarious jealousies and mischievous misunderstandings.Wickedly entertaining, it is bursting at the seams with verbal fun, physical comedy and a plethora of cleverly colourful characters.


The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare

Review by Tim Wilcock for FringeReview (August 2017)

It’s 1956, women are chained to the kitchen sink and men sashay in from the city (or the golf course) expecting the dinner to be on the table and a smile to be on the face of their “little woman”.  But Sir John Falstaff’s get up and go long since got up and went and, bereft of cash and bumptious female company, he badly underestimates the housewives of the Page and Ford family, who are desperate only for frolics at their plump admirer’s expense.

That about sums up what is normally a near three hour Shakespeare comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor.  That YAT Theatre managed to squeeze all the essentials into an action-packed sixty minutes of fast moving fun and frolics is down to some very skilful scripting, staging and an excellent performance from a twenty strong troupe of young actors, ranging in age from a youthful 16 to a positively ancient 25, aided and abetted by an excellent backstage crew.

All credit, then, that their relative youth did not prevent their playing the rich variety of ages demanded by this play with a great deal of conviction.  Dr Cauis (Josh Clarke), Sir Huw Evans (Gwithian Evans) and Slender (the charmingly gauche Alex Farley) extracted every comedic nuance from their roles, whilst Messrs Ford and Page (Arran Southern and Gabriel Burns respectively) had the gravitas required of (apparently) wronged husbands.  Pistol, Bardolph and their merry gang came and went with commendable efficiency, combining scene shifting duties with small, but important interventions to keep things rolling along.  And the mischievous wives were played with great aplomb and conspiratorial glee by Joanna Leppink and Rebecca Tarry.  Perhaps Sir John himself (Liam Hurley) might have been portrayed with a little less vitality given his supposed corpulence and age, but that’s a minor quibble.

Costumes were absolutely superb, of the era and exquisitely tailored and coloured.  Someone had also spent a good deal of time and care in locating props from the era too and the sound segue ways were representative of music popular in the mid-50’s.  Tightly directed by Sarah Dowd and Elizabeth Lattimore, the whole production had a great deal of energy, the cueing tight and the story never getting lost in all the hectic and very frequent comings and goings.  The classic three scenes where Falstaff is roundly debunked – the basket, the Mistress of Brentford and the woods – were all delivered with a real panache.  All in all, a production with a lot to commend it.

Originally published at The Merry Wives of Windsor – FringeReview

Cast
Role Name
Mistress Margaret PageJojo Leppink
Mistress Alice FordRebecca Tarry
Sir John FalstaffLiam Hurley
Frank FordArran Southern
George PageGabriel Burns
Mistress QuicklyCatherine Bryant
Doctor CaiusJosh Clarke
Sir Hugh EvansGwithian Evans
Mistress Anne PageEmmy Coates
FentonFreddy Gaffney
HostessJennie Hilliard
ShallowJoseph Evans
SlenderAlex Farley
PistolMeaghan Baxter
NymNathalie Chateaneuf
BardolphEmily Winsor
John RugbyDavid G
SimpleJames Hall
RobinJessica Hunt
Crew
Role Name
DIRECTORSarah Dowd
Elizabeth Lattimore
STAGE MANAGERJenna Powell
ASSISTANT SMStephanie von Wiera
LIGHTINGMeg Hird
SOUNDJack Tidball
WARDROBESarah Dowd
Elizabeth Lattimore
WARDROBE ASSISTANTEmily Moss
SET DESIGNERJenna Powell
Elizabeth Lattimore
PRODUCERJenna Powell
MARKETINGSarah Dowd
Stephanie von Wiera
Rebecca Tarry
POSTER/FLYER DESIGNERElizabeth Lattimore
PHOTOGRAPHYJonathan Constant
Jojo Leppink
HAIREmma Woodley
Sarah Dowd
HAIR ASSISTANTNathalie Chateaneuf
PROGRAMMEStephanie von Wiera
FRONT OF HOUSESam Clunas
BOX OFFICEBill Compton - London
YAT - Edinburgh