'The Merry Wives of Windsor' is not one of Shakespeare's best plays by any stretch, it's not even among my favourites of his comedies, with Falstaff's character writing being less appealing and complex than in 'Henry IV Parts 1 and 2'. It is though extremely entertaining, with lots of sparkling comedic dialogue, memorable characters and interactions and the final scene has heart. Also expected a lot considering the calibre of the cast and considering it is the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Was though very mixed on this 2018 production of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' from Royal Shakespeare Company. It's not their worst production from that year, being somebody who didn't care for their 'Macbeth' with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack at all, but they showed near greatness more than once with their live streamings in recent years and this is not one of them. Its energy cannot be denied, it has entertaining parts and it's superbly performed on the whole. At the same time, the modern setting doesn't quite come off enough and the same goes with the humour, like their 'Romeo and Juliet' the production tries too hard to be accessible to modern and younger audiences and has a concept that actually won't appeal to many in my view.
As said, most of the acting is a triumph. David Troughton, a seasoned Shakespearean actor and a company regular, is outstanding as Falstaff. He has hilarious comic timing without mugging or overdoing the lecherousness, has poignant but never over sentimental pathos and makes Falstaff easy to feel pity for, not to mention he copes with the extreme physical challenges with no signs of being taxed. Other standouts are Rebecca Lacey and Beth Cordingly, their humour sparkles and they have irresistible chemistry with each other. Jonathan Cullen is often a riot as Caius.
Character interaction is spot on, especially Lacey and Cordingly's double act, and there is funny humour, especially between them and some of the humour at Falstaff's expense. The energy is exuberant throughout and there was no trouble understanding what was going on in the plot. Really did like the vivid and colourful costume and set designs, it is not traditional but the concept is clear and it is not too tacky. The photography is intimate and there is some interesting use of music, with a sitcomish style with Elizabethan orchestration.
However, as already said this production of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' does try too hard to make the play accessible and appealing to modern audiences and tries too hard to be relevant. Unfortunately it is done in a way that frequently jars with the text, mismatching stylistically often, and a case of too much concept production and not enough Shakespeare. It was like watching an extended episode of 'The Only Way is Essex' (why is going to turn most off) or one of 'Birds of a Feather'.
While the energy is never in doubt and story cohesion is not an issue, the staging tends to be too overblown, it can be too hectic as a result of not having enough time to breathe and the depth is missing and lost amidst the increasingly over the top bawdiness that can be found easily in past prime 'Carry On'. The mispronuncation running gag got tired too early.
Not all the humour works, with it taking find to find its groove and then it too often is too broad and vulgar, reminiscnent of when the 'Carry On' series became crass. The climax loses its magic and makes no sense whatsoever within the setting. While most of the cast are triumphant, Vince Leigh's Ford felt under-characterised and David Acton is all mugging and no subtlety. The additional characters are stereotypical and add nothing and the attempts at political relevance were further pointless.
Concluding, quite a lot of good but a lot of stuff that didn't work too. 5/10.
