Nothing, says ANDY HEDGECOCK, can rescue this undistinguished amalgam of ponderous melodrama and shallow philosophical speculation
Not much fun from these Merry Wives
The Merry Wives
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds/Touring
2/5
RUMOURED to have been written at the behest of Elisabeth I, The Merry Wives of Windsor is widely regarded to be one of Shakespeare’s weakest plays.
Even so, that’s no barrier to Northern Broadsides, who tackle the farce with their usual aplomb.
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Family issues and dragon-fuelled history amount to a vacuous spectacle that ill-fits the theatre, muses SIMON PARSONS
GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
KEITH RICHMOND relishes a superbly conceived modern version of Aeschylus’ drama of murderous family succession
GEORGE FOGARTY is dazzled by a breathtakingly skillful puppet version of Shakespeare’s greatest love poem



