A local production captures the spirit of a Shakespearean comedy.
WHETHER performed in 1613 or 2013, some of William Shakespeare’s plays still make us laugh.
Suggest a Shakespeare play, and most people will have images of long soliloquies, high-browed humour, and men prancing around in tights, reciting dialogues in Elizabethan English.
However, the Bard does not have the best reputation nowadays. To many literature students and theatre audiences, the thought of being “Shakespeared” is an unpleasant experience, a long ordeal in pretension, boredom and irrelevance.
This is a crying shame as Shakespeare wrote for the enjoyment of the masses. His plays, after all, contain some of the most beautiful language ever written, as well as themes and humour capable of being enjoyed by all.
The recent production of The Merry Wives Of Windsor, performed by local theatre group Shakespeare Demystified at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) was a good reminder of that. A stripped-down, Reader’s Digest version of Shakespeare, the show was a delight to watch, a non-stop laugh riot of crazy antics, clever wordplay, and cross-dressing.
The play starred Qahar Aqilah, Sandee Chew, Marina Tan, Lim Soon Heng and Lim Kien Lee, as well as guest actors Anne James and David Lim. The production had no director – the ensemble cast directed one another.
The duration of the play was also considerably trimmed down from its original three hours to 90 minutes, with a narrator included to ease scene transition. (The play’s original script however, was retained, with only occasional words changed.)
Gone, therefore, is the romantic subplot between Anne Page and Master Fenton, as well as characters such as Doctor Caius, Sir Hugh Evans and Shallow. Instead, the play focused entirely on the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and his exploits in wooing the clever and lively Mistress Ford (who together with her friend Mistress Paige, are the titular “merry wives”.)
Having previously done heavier plays like Julius Caesar and The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare Demystified is now turning its attention to comedies instead, and is proving to be just as adept at handling them.
The Merry Wives Of Windsor is one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known comedies, jokingly said to be left off most school reading lists due to it being “too much fun”. This local production effectively captured the play’s raucous spirit, with the actors’ energetic performances sending audiences into fits of laughter.
What was good about the production was how accessible the humour was – whether it was slapstick, bawdy innuendo, or sly wordplay, much of the wit in The Merry Wives Of Windsor could have been successfully transplanted into a modern romantic comedy without being out of place.
Acting was generally well done. James did well as Mistress Quickly, managing to make an impression despite a relatively smaller role, and David was good as the Servant, although his enunciation was not always easy to make out. Soon Heng as Master Ford was occasionally over the top, while Kien Lee put up a good show as Master Paige.
Chew and Tan shone as the merry wives. The two had good chemistry and performed many of their hilarious lines with great aplomb – it was difficult not to want to cheer when these tricksters hatch their ridiculous schemes.
The role of Falstaff is always tricky to play, but Qahar did a great job of doing so. Donning a fat suit, Qahar effectively portrayed his character as pompous but lovable, a man who thinks the world of himself despite others laughing at him behind his back. One particularly hilarious scene was when Falstaff complained about being thrown into the river Thames, with Qahar’s wonderful delivery of the line: “You may know by my size, that I have a kind of alacrity in sinking.”
The narration felt organic, too. Cast members cracked jokes, streamlined events, and explained obscure concepts in a simple yet interesting manner which really helped flesh out the world of The Merry Wives Of Windsor.
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