Merry Wives of Windsor

Shakespeare direction needs passion to make it understandable to the modern audience; Taunton Thespians had this thanks to Jane and Mike. Outside productions cannot depend on the set and fancy technical wizardry to add the gloss so the actual acting and words need to be thoughtfully produced. In this case hard work and determination by every cast member to give their all was evident.

 Three curtained door frames, a table, two benches and a basket transported on a van from place to place in Somerset over two weeks supported these travelling troubadours as they performed what has been described as Carry On Falstaff. A rather young Sir John, clear in speech and on a mission to seduce his chosen wives of Windsor with cheek and a twinkle in his eye led the cast admirably. The Wives themselves mischievous and saucy gossiped away looking attractive and content with their lot. Mistress Quickly the match making minx was so totally in character that you felt transported back to 1660’s, it is hard to believe this was her first outing with the Bard….. The only glip was the social status confusion, lovely costumes but some of the rich looked poor and one or two of the serving classes looked positively landed gentry. The audience need visuals as signs to the hierarchy of the characters in this type of piece and sadly this wasn’t as clear as it could have been…especially when doubling up due to lack of men occurs. Some good disguising of feminine features was evident all lit with gentle subtle lighting. It just such a shame that the English weather wasn’t on side and we all ended up in a tent……we pray for sunny evenings for future dates.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.