Stratford Festival Reviews

3 1/2 Stars: "under Galati’s direction, it only occasionally resonates with the kind of life Shakespeare celebrated...what seems most absent...is any sense of bawdy fun — a joyous, rollicking celebration of humanity, undertaken not despite our foibles, but rather because of them"

3 Stars: "[the play] is about the middle class, and the plot's motivating force is debt. For those who seek timeliness and relevance in their theatregoing, then: check and check."

"my favourite in the cast -is James Blendick's Justice Shallow, a character even further removed than Falstaff from his chronicle-play prototype, played here as a tetchy squire, very much on his dignity and in rich, relaxed voice."

"The object of the play is to entertain and this production does that, but it's not likely to be the one that has people talking this season."

"Merry Wives begins as farce and ends as comedy and Tony Award-winner Frank Galati marks his festival directorial debut by exercising restraint. Galati resists the temptation to compensate for the play’s inadequacies by camping up or otherwise charging over the top with theatrical tricks and gimmicks."

"Lucy Peacock and Laura Condlln as the scheming best friends are fabulous and without comparison.... I have been a big fan of Condlln and they are paired very well. Geraint Wyn Davies as Falstaff was positively outrageous to watch....Rooney at his absolute best."

"Last enacted here in 1995, it has been far, far too long between productions....Nigel Bennett as the drawling French Dr. Caius does not miss a chance to mangle the English language, Christopher Prentice is a delightfully dense and expressive Master Slender, and James Blendick has the audience in stitches"

3 Stars: First Impression review - "Wyn Davies rises to the occasion in a fat suit, playing a Falstaff so vain he thinks the show is about him – and is deliciously gulled time and time again. But it’s a red-faced Tom Rooney as jealous husband Ford who steals the ...

2 1/2 Stars: "In fact, one of the show's troubles is that Wyn Davies is just too damn charming. You wonder why everybody keeps accusing him of being such a boor, when he's just a horny older man who's a bit overweight, but also happens to be wittier and more ...