By Laurie O’Neill — Contributing Editor
Photos by Ken McGagh for The Concord Bridge
He is boastful, selfish, and dishonest — a hustler who ignores the rules. He poaches deer, commits violence against his servants, and considers himself irresistible to women.
One day, he decides to solve his financial woes by seducing the wives of two wealthy businessmen. But the women get their revenge, having fun at his expense.
He is Falstaff, the character around which Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” revolves.
The World’s A Stage Players are presenting an abridged version of the play on the lawn of the Main Library this month. It has a contemporary setting and feature villains, heroes and heroines, and the bard’s trademark wordplay, including puns and malapropisms.
Free performances are on consecutive Saturday and Sunday afternoons through July 27 and at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center on July 26.
A contemporary soap opera
Shakespeare originated the buffoonish Falstaff, who is one of the most famous comic characters in English literature and appears in four of the writer’s plays.
“The Merry Wives of Windsor” was written around 1600, but the story is in many ways modern. It is said to be funnier, faster-paced, and more accessible than Shakespeare’s more popular comedies.
Director Jim Porter thinks of the play as “a contemporary soap opera” and says that “everything is pitched a little higher, [and] everything is a bit over the top… it’s all very dramatic.”
Woman power
“One of the best things about the show,” Porter says, “is that the women are clearly in charge. The men range from jovial to profoundly jealous to utterly moronic.”
“The World’s A Stage” was organized in 2012 as an offshoot of the Concord Players. It has produced ten plays. Its members range in age from their 20s to their 60s and are from several area towns.
Ed Bernard is one of two members who has been in every show. “It’s a big part of my life,” he says of working with the “close-knit” group of experienced actors.
Bernard plays George Page, husband of Mistress Margaret Page, one of the women Falstaff attempts to seduce.
The Concord resident and freelance marketing writer says, “This is the first time in several years where my character is both alive and married at the end of the show. Usually, I’m either dead or alone or both.”
Upcoming performances of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” are on July 21, 27, and 28 at 5 p.m. on the lawn of the Main Library. The venue will be the Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden Street in case of rain. There will also be an indoor performance at the Center on Friday, July 26, at 7 p.m.
Patrons are invited to bring blankets or chairs and sit on the library lawn; a limited number of chairs will be provided.
For more information, visit www.concordplayers.org.
