Next we get the cast dancing their way through a credits sequence introducing all the characters as well as the fact that Laird is consciously approaching this as a sitcom - although given the '70s and '80s style, they might have been more appropriately left for the end with a "You have been watching..." caption.
Along with Falstaff some of his companions have made the transition from the History Plays, including Bardolph, gender-flipped here to Charlotte Josephine's miniskirted barmaid, and Mistress Quickly (Ishia Bennison,) now housekeeper to Jonathan Cullen's absurd French doctor Caius. In the play's major subplot, he's one of three suitors to the eligible Anne Page (Karen Fishwick,) but it's Anne's mother (Rebecca Lacey) who Falstaff's got his eye on, sending her a love letter. Unfortunately for him, Mistress Page is best friends with Mistress Ford (Beth Cordingly,) who's received an identical letter, and they hatch a revenge plot to humiliate him.
This isn't one of the more frequently revived comedies, and Laird makes sure to throw a lot at it to bring the comedy to life - with mixed success. The script plays it fairly free and easy with Shakespeare's text, moving the action to a clichéd version of present-day Essex - Lez Brotherston's costumes are a highlight, chucking leopard-print at Elizabethan ruffs and codpieces and hoping for the best. Falstaff's humiliation gets an added level of unpleasantness with the replacement of the laundry basket with a wheelie bin, and turning the men's hunting trip to golf leads to an unexpectedly scene-stealing appearance by a remote-controlled golf bag.
Not everything hits the mark though, and there's a lot that feels like throwing everything at the stage and seeing what sticks. I got the impression nobody knew what to do with Anne's main suitor Fenton, so Luke Newberry is just lumbered with endless pratfalls. I could also have done with the 1970s sitcom feel not going so far as to turn Tim Samuels' Justice Shallow into a camp Mr Humphries figure - a particularly surprising misjudgement from a production that goes on to have a sweet moment of Caius accidentally married to Nym (Josh Finan) and both finding themselves really quite thrilled about it.
But Troughton has infectious fun as a Falstaff who never really seems like he'd actually know what to do with the Merry Wives if they succumbed to his advances. Katy Brittain is a Babs Windsor-ish Hostess of the Garter, Nima Taleghani a sweet and enthusiastic Robin, and among some more heavy-handed modern references, Vince Leigh's Frank Ford disguising himself as a Russian with a briefcase full of cash is a more pleasingly oblique dig at current affairs.
There's a few laughs here but I wished I'd found it funnier than I actually did. It's played pretty broad although not to the point that it feels dumbed-down. But transporting a sitcom style to the stage isn't without its risks - frequent musical stings (which Laird also composes) are a TV stalwart but on stage instead of jollying things along they hold them up. This is a show that really, really wants you to like it, and sometimes that can translate into a touch of desperation.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is booking in repertory until the 22nd of September at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; and from the 7th of December until the 5th of January at the Barbican Theatre.
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes including interval.
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan.
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