ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
For this (comic) relief, much thanks
GORDON PARSONS is glad to have his mind taken off the election by a perfectly pitched farce
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Am Martin Parr, September Says, The Monkey, and The Gorge
RITA DI SANTO applauds a touching and witty opener that touches a hot topic in Germany: the future of the immigrant population
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
SHAKESPEARE is notable for spicing his tragedies with touches of comedy and, conversely, his comedies with tragic grace notes. Right on key with our ongoing election shenanigans, the RST launches arguably the playwright’s only true farce.
Blanche McIntyre knows that the essence of successful farce depends on pace and timing and her perfectly pitched production carries the play’s well-worked content of what were, even for the Bard, old gulling jokes with confident energy.
But even this wouldn’t work without a team of actors who can handle the improbabilities of the plot convincingly.
More from this author
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
A landmark work of gay ethnography, an avant-garde fusion of folk and modernity, and a chance comment in a great interview
ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes
Similar stories
GORDON PARSONS hails a magnificent performance by a cast who make sure that every word can be heard and understood
GORDON PARSONS relishes a Shakespearean comedy played at pace for sheer delight
GORDON PARSONS relishes a fast moving production of Sheridan’s comic masterpiece
Transmorphed into a romp in the Caribbean, the play effortlessly wins over the audience, writes GORDON PARSONS