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The Merry Wives Of Windsor Theatre Guild Director: Alice Teasdale Little Theatre, Adelaide University. Season closed  With
thirty-seven plays in the Shakespeare canon, the Theatre Guild has
treated us to an uncommon production of 'The Merry Wives Of Windsor.'
It's useful to remind one's self that it was written over 400 years
ago - in 1597 - to appreciate the pedigree of the modern farce. The
play was actually written on a request by Queen Elizabeth (I know
our queen is ageing, but I do mean the first) who so liked the character
Falstaff from 'Henry IV, Part I' that she wanted to see more of him.The story is a load of pleasant nonsense concerning cuckoldry, unrequited lust, and foolish individuals, and it seems to get better as the evening goes on. Shakespeare's comic bent gets plenty of exercise with physical gags and linguistic jests in abundance. Director Alice Teasdale set Shakespeare's provincial Windsor in its namesake just north of Adelaide. The Garter pub bears an uncanny likeness in look and feel to an outback establishment and the characters transpose exceedingly well (pastoralists, their wives and lay-abouts) and fantasy (unlikely foreigners). Impressive costuming added flare to the fun. Finding 18 excellent actors to fill all the roles wouldn't be easy and it certainly wasn't accomplished here. With all these characters, Alice Teasdale would have been busy during the rehearsals and one thankful measure was how efficiently she managed her much disciplined actors with quick changeovers between scenes. Fortunately, there were a few very good performers who neither yelled nor murdered their lines. Robert Elliott made a welcome return to the stage as Mr Ford and showed the young'uns how to do it. Georgia Dodd as Mrs Ford made the most of her assets and sparkled in this comic role. Ann Weaver as Mrs Page in her jodhpurs rode circles 'round her husband. Gary George in the lead role of Sir John Falstaff provided an energetic and funny persona but he can't help using the same old accent no matter what class of person he plays. The whole effect was like re-visiting Dylan Thomas' village of Llareggub in 'Under Milkwood' - but with some action. It was a rare night at the theatre - for it is a rarely performed play - and thankfully, it was rapidly performed.  |
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