MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Hope Theatre
★★
“the young company could have done with a bit more organisation and staging to be truly effective”
Riotous. Exuberant. Energetic. These are just a few descriptions that spring to mind about director/producer Grace Darvill’s re-working of Shakespeare’s comedy for an early-2000s Britain. Set in the streets and residences of a run-down estate (somewhere in north or east London from the look of the video backdrop that was playing at the opening and the interval), this is a worthwhile and enthusiastic piece.
The story was originally written by Shakespeare to re-introduce the gross, buffoonish Falstaff of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. It places him as the central character around which the story revolves, as it is said that Queen Elizabeth I wanted to see Falstaff in love. Arriving on the scene, broke, with his henchmen (can you say henchpeople?) he is scheming to trick, seduce and fleece two wealthy wives who live locally. Naturally, being smart and quick witted, they soon come up with a scheme of their own which will deliver his comeuppance.
The action is as fast-moving as an episode from EastEnders, only with a sharply comic edge. As the drama opens Falstaff (James Tanner) and the cast tumble noisily into the theatre space. Before long fighting has burst out and in the chaos our Falstaff actually did get hurt (he had to dab his lips to stop blood flow for the next 15 minutes). This tells you something about the high stakes performance of the next two hours. Playing entirely for laughs (and they got a lot) the members of the company throw themselves about, shouting, arguing, singing and dancing to non-stop banter laced with Britpop music. There is a lot of personal contact (also with the audience) as well as drinking, spitting and snacking.
It was all a bit overwhelming and the young company could have done with a bit more organisation and staging to be truly effective. That said, it would be hard to replicate the troupe’s energy and, as the blurb implies, no two performances are going to be alike. The stars of the evening were the two women playing the wives Ford and Page – Tash Tomlinson and Bronwyn Davies – and Django Bevan as husband Ford who disguises himself to catch out the would-be cuckolder. None of the players held back. They all threw themselves (quite literally, sometimes) into the merriment.
If you want an evening of hilarity, vim and vigour, this is a good place to start. It might help to know the story before you go.
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Hope Theatre
Reviewed on 17th February 2026
by Louise Sibley
