Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Gregory Doran
When Sir John Falstaff sets out to woo a rich mistress to solve his financial worries, he soon discovers that the Wives of Windsor are more than a match for him. Love, song, laughter and merriment combine in a new musical version of Shakespeare's popular comedy.
The Company includes Judi Dench returning to the RSC as Mistress Quickly. Judi most recently played the Countess of Rousillion for the RSC in All's Well That Ends Well in 2004. One of the country's most treasured actresses, her many varied stage, television and film roles include Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown, M in the James Bond films and Queen Elizabeth I in the film Shakespeare in Love, for which she won an Oscar in 1998.
Simon Callow makes his RSC acting debut to play Falstaff. Simon's many stage, film and television credits include the films Amadeus, A Room with a View, Shakespeare in Love and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Recent stage credits include Present Laughter (National Tour), The Woman in White and The Mystery of Charles Dickens, both in the West End. He has also played Dickens himself in the recent BBC series of Dr Who and other television credits include the critically acclaimed HBO mini-series Angels in America and the title role in the Emmy-award winning Drama-Documentary Galileo's Daughter. Simon is also an author whose published work includes books on actors and acting as well as highly-acclaimed biographies of Charles Laughton and Orson Welles.
Alistair McGowan, best known for his BBC TV series Alistair McGowan's Big Impression, Scarlett Strallen, currently playing the title role in Mary Poppins, and Martin Crewes all make their RSC debuts to play Ford, Anne Page and Fenton. Other familiar RSC faces include Paul Chahidi (Dr Caius), Jeffery Dench (Robert Shallow), Rob Edwards (Page), Alexandra Gilbreath (Mrs Ford), Haydn Gwynne (Mrs Page), Ian Huges (Evans) and Simon Trinder (Slender).
With an original score by Paul Englishby and lyrics by Ranjit Bolt, the production is adapted and directed by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran following his recent critically acclaimed productions of Antony and Cleopatra and The Canterbury Tales.
Merry Wives - The Musical runs at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 2 December 2006 - 10 February 2007.
Running time
The running time for Merry Wives - The Musical is 3 hours and 5 minutes including an interval of 20 mins.
Access performances
Assisted performance on 13 January, 20 January, 23 January, 31 January.
Additional information
The cast recording of the music from Merry Wives - The Musical is available online and from RSC Mail Order on 01789 748114.
Merry Wives - The Musical is kindly supported by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Trust.
