'The Merry Wives of Windsor' review — this fizzing revenge comedy is Shakespeare's Globe at its most spellbinding

Read our review of The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Sean Holmes, now in performances at Shakespeare's Globe to 20 September.

You know the saying: revenge is a dish best served cold. But in the case of Sean Holmes’s take on Shakespeare’s revenge comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, it is more like smoking hot. This production fizzes, right from the start, with zooming scenes and every speck of humour wrung out and paraded.

Basically, all of that good fun is down to a cast of mighty fine actors. George Fouracres as John Falstaff stalks the front of the stage, drunk and clutching a goblet of wine, with his eyes popping from their sockets like a cartoon. At times, he’s utterly repulsive, leering suggestively into the audience with a grin that feels soaked in sleaze, and yet he is more charismatic than most Falstaffs that have gone before.

Elsewhere, Emma Pallet’s Mistress Page is a fast-talking, fast-thinking schemer, eager to serve Falstaff his justice once and for all. Alongside the less-meddling Katherine Pearce as Mistress Ford, their comic chemistry crackles.

It is an evening littered with fun and games. Adam Wadsworth swaps between playing Anne Ford’s love interests with an elastic charm. Flickering between different accents, personas and postures effortlessly, both Doctor Caius and Slender are full and alive. Physical comedy earns this production many of its laughs: the Welsh Hugh Evans (Samuel Creasy) is all flailing limbs and high-pitched exclamations. One of the evening’s high points is when his speech turns to song.

But there’s a serious side to Holmes’s staging too, and he has made a valiant effort to deal with Mistress Ford’s husband’s overwhelming jealousy. In his production, we see flickers of real tenderness between Mistress Ford and Falstaff, while Ford is left seething with suspicion. His paranoia drives him mad, and his words to his wife feel like spits of fire. If anyone is the villain in this Merry Wives of Windsor, it’s him.

All of the characters are painted in technicolour. The one problem is that the Windsor they inhabit feels like a sketch. Grace Smart’s set is decorated in swirling William Morris-style wallpaper, but beyond its blue and yellow hues, the design is fairly uninspired. The costumes match beautifully, too. But pinning down the exact where and when of this production is a bit of a puzzle; visually, it never quite aligns with the sharpness of the performances.

But, for the most part, that’s a small concern. Under a summer night sky at the Globe, the forest scene is raw with the natural elements; Falstaff seems riddled with fear as the fairies in disguise begin to perform their rituals. It is moments like these that the Globe is at its most spellbinding. So, if you’re looking for a night of riotous mischief, this is one trip to Windsor you can’t miss.

The Merry Wives of Windsor is at Shakespeare's Globe to 20 September. Book The Merry Wives of Windsor tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Photos by Marc Brenner)