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RSC Live: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (12A)
Live screening by satellite broadcast
The next in the season of live satellite broadcasts direct from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon to the big screen at the Regent in Christchurch, will be a new version of Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy of suburbia, wives and overinflated egos.
Down on his luck in the suburbs, John Falstaff plans to hustle his way to a comfortable retirement by seducing the wives of two wealthy men. He sends Mistress Page and Mistress Ford identical love letters but they discover his double dealing and set about turning the tables, arranging a secret meeting at Mistress Ford's house.
Meanwhile, Frank Ford has heard of Falstaff's plan and decides to test his wife's fidelity. Pretending to be Master Broom, he pays Falstaff to seduce his wife on his behalf, twice almost catching them together.
Complicating matters further, the Pages' daughter, Anne, is also being pursued by three suitors. The French physician Doctor Caius is her mother's choice, whilst her father prefers Slender, Justice Shallow's kinsman. However, Anne herself is in love with young Fenton. It then transpires that all three suitors have employed Mistress Quickly to promote their cause with Anne.
Unbeknown to Falstaff, it’s the women of Windsor who really pull the strings, orchestrating his comeuppance amidst a theatrical smorgasbord of petty rivalries, and jealousies. For a fat Englishman, a Welshman and a Frenchman, the only way is Windsor in a world of wealth, glamour and ‘well jel’ wives, who finally tell Sir John to ‘shut up’.
The Merry Wives of Windsor (12A) is an outrageous and fun-filled new version of the Bard’s classic comedy and is directed by Fiona Laird.
