The Merry Wives of
Windsor
by William Shakespeare
directed by Victor Kalka
“In this production, directed by Victor Kalka, Falstaff is played by Cheryl Ward. This is clever casting, because Ward is a consummate performer, and because our awareness that Falstaff is being played by a woman enhances the fundamental premise of the play – that Falstaff is being played by women.”
Wives may be merry and yet honest too.
That old scoundrel, the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, erstwhile pal of Prince Hal, is down on his luck.
Seeing a way to restore his fortunes, he schemes to seduce both Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, the wives of two wealthy merchants.
He sends them identical love letters, but his double-dealing ruse is discovered, and the two ladies determine to teach him a lesson.
Meanwhile, the irrationally jealous Frank Ford has heard of Falstaff’s plan and decides to test his wife’s fidelity.
And in a subplot of young love, the Pages’ daughter, Anne, is pursued by three suitors, each of whom is paying Falstaff’s old crony Mistress Quickly to push their cause.
There is much mayhem, dodgy disguises, misdirected letters, a duel and a midnight denouement, before the tangle is unraveled, the men-behaving-badly get their comeuppance, and the good prevail.
Shakespeare’s bright and breezy comedy of sexual jealousy, where clever women are forced to put up with dull, ego-centric men, is given an 80s reboot, the fun played out against a landscape of suburban aspirations and neon-hued bad taste.
written by William Shakespeare
directed and designed by Victor Kalka
assistant director Caitlin Williams
dramaturg Samuel Webster
presented by New Theatre
stage manager Sai Sourya Kasivajjula
lighting designer Jas Borsovszky
costume designer James Cao
sound designer Georgia Condon
assistant stage manager Tim Williamson, Paris Paris
photography by Samuel Webster
with Thom Blake, Garreth Cruikshank, Rob Ferguson, Roslyn Hicks, Allan Hough, Suzann James, Susan Jordan, Priyanka Karunanithi, Jessie Lancaster, Dwayne Lawler, Ciaran O’Riordan, Cheng Tang, Rob Thompson, Emma Throssell, Cheryl Ward, Harry Winsome, Olivia Xegas
New Theatre, April/May 2022
“By setting the merry wives in 80s Australia, Kalka drew connections between the colloquial, gossipy context of the original production in Shakespeare’s day under Queen Elizabeth I and a more recognisable mode for Australian audiences of a neighbourhood dramedy like Neighbours or Home and Away.”
“★★★ With the main stage consisting of a hills hoist, brick house with frilly curtains and plastic lounge chairs [...] it makes for some enjoyable nostalgia.”
