BARD IN THE BOTANICS FESTIVAL, GLASGOW– UNTIL 27 JULY 2024
REVIEWED BY RACHEL FARRIER
5*****
I’ve seen a number of Shakespeare’s comedies given the Bard in the Botanics treatment in the last few years and they have all been a treat, so I am happy to say at the outset of my review that this production of The Merry Wives of Wishaw did not disappoint.
Having never seen The Merry Wives of Windsor before, I made sure to look up a plot summary online beforehand. The consensus of the internet seemed to be that The Merry Wives of Windsor is very far from Shakespeare’s finest play, and Gordon Barr (who adapted and directed this production) says as much in his programme notes. So perhaps transplanting it to a current day Scottish central belt suburban context was a stroke of genius, because the central conceit of the play – in Barr’s own words a ‘feminist farce’ using disguise and pretended seduction to bring down a pompous and conniving womanizer – convinces and amuses as well as any of Shakespeare’s more famous comedies.
Alan Steele reprises his role as Falstaff, having appeared in the same role in Henry IV last summer (apparently, Elizabeth I so enjoyed the character in Henry IV that she compelled Shakespeare to bring him back in a different play), and this thread of continuity is another excellent trick for Bard in the Botanics regulars. Steele is magnificent in portraying the bombastic, sleazy fallibility of the man, and the scene in which he ends up in a pink wheelie bin will stay long in my memory – it was one of several moments where I was crying with laughter.
Isabelle Joss and Claire Macallister as Nell Page and Alice Ford (the ‘Merry Wives’) are an absolute treat, and Joss’s portrayal of a very recognisable (to a Scottish audience, at any rate) mammy feels like the comedy glue which holds the production together, in the best possible way. The wives’ increasingly hilarious schemes for outwitting Falstaff draw in all the other characters, and Kyle Gardiner as the salon-owning, money grabbing but spineless Abraham Slender is a delight.
Eimi Quinn and Johnny Panchaud shine as the genuine, love-struck couple Ned and Anne, and their sweet (and funny) romance tempers the cynical and world weary take on love and relationships of the older characters.
As a side note, the whole cast should also be commended for battling through the cacophany of a police helicopter and sirens at a nearby incident during the first half – unexpected outside events are always a risk for an outdoor production but the show went on without a hitch.
The musical finale of this production is the unexpected cherry on the cake of an absolutely brilliant night, and the standing ovation from the audience was absolutely justified. If I can get along to see it again in the coming week, I will.