One of Shakespeare’s lesser performed plays The Merry Wives of Windsor sometimes gets some bad press.

But according to acclaimed theatre actor and director Barrie Rutter, it is unjust.

His Northern Broadsides company’s current tour - which he directs and also stars as Falstaff - is the third time he has revived the comedy, the first being back in 1993.

It comes to Kingston’s Rose Theatre from March 22 to 26.

Rutter told us: “People dismiss it too readily. Journalists say that Queen Elizabeth asked to see ‘the fat man in love’ but we don’t have any proof of that whatsoever but they use it as proof to bat this play over the head. It is just lazy journalism really.”

The play does feature Sir John Falstaff, the vain so-called ‘fat man’ who appeared in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts One and Two, attempting to clumsily seduce two well-to-do wives. But they get wise to his plan and scheme to take revenge with hilarious consequences.

Rutter said: “Last year we did King Lear, which was a tragedy, so this year we are doing a comedy.

“It is a great explosion of language and it is great fun and there are good parts right across the board. Not many plays give such a range of good stuff to play for people to get their teeth into.

“It also gives access to three good parts for mature women. That is not in itself a reason for choosing it, but it is a handy addition.”

Rutter has dropped ‘of Windsor’ from the title of his version, giving it a broader appeal.

He said: “You very rarely see this play north of Stratford or the Globe because of that title. We have released it.

“It is where the middle class of the day were living 400 years ago. That is sort of element has diluted a little bit and we have inserted a bit of our own more local geography.

“It doesn’t do anything adverse to the play. It just frees us up from doing what people might think are Windsor accents.”

While the language remains the same, the costumes are updated to a 1920s style, ostensibly for practical reasons.

Rutter said: “The setting is a 1920s setting. The language is the same. We are not a company that can look after so-called traditional costumes on the road. They take a lot of care. We wanted something simpler that lets us go on the road with 20 people.”

Back in the 1990s, Yorkshireman Rutter was described by then-Deputy Prime Minster as producing ‘factory floor Shakespeare’. It is a term he does not feel fits any longer, though he does present a more down-to-earth take on the Bard.

He said: “He made that about 20 years ago and it gets churned out. Don’t read too much into that.

“At that time, we used a lot more industrial-type props that we picked up in mills and things like that because we were poor.

“Still, this is not the posh RP speaking that you can get elsewhere. I’m not trying to make a point – I’m just saying it’s my voice.”

Returning to Kingston will also be special for Rutter, who led the first professional company to perform at the Rose.

He said: “I was in conversation with the original ideas people of the Rose way back in 2000, 2001, so we had the honour of presenting Henry V in 2003 before it was fully finished.”

He added: “We have done regular visits since then so it is always a high spot on our tour. We look forward to it.”

The Merry Wives is at The Rose Theatre, Kingston, from Tuesday, March 22, to Saturday, March 26. Tickets cost from £8. Go to rosetheatrekingston.org

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