Bardolph, Pistol and Nym

Falstaff, Nym, Pistol and Bardolph enter the Garter

Of the many "threes" in Merry Wives of Windsor, Bardolph, Pistol and Nym are the most intriguing and most remembered.  Essentially Falstaff's entourage, the men are as different as from each other as they could be.  They also have very different back stories.

I often say that productions are only as strong as the ensemble, and while that is true, for this script, these three take on part of that focus.  They each serve a different function for Falstaff and for the plot.  If there isn't careful delineation between the three, all is lost for the entire production.


It would be easy to clump the three of them together, and label them a walking mass of trouble makers.  And at first blush there is little difference between them.  They seem to serve little purpose but support Falstaff.  But on closer examination of the characters you can see that the differences shine through, and in fact are one of the more artful contributions to the storytelling.  Bardolph is the one who keeps drinking; Pistol is the one who rebels against Falstaff and betrays him; Nym is the hysterically melancholy punner.

Bardolph, Quickly, Robin and Falstaff

Bardolph is the drunk, but he is also Falstaff's co-dependent enabler.  Because Pistol and Nym say they won't be his errand boys with the wives, Falstaff is left with only Bardolph and his page, Robin.  Falstaff quickly sells off the wiser than the rest page to the Page family, and is left with the man who is incoherent at best and unable to put up much of an intellectual fight against any of Falstaff's schemes.  Is he the manifestation of Falstaff's id?

All of Bardolph's lines have to do with drink or drinking, at least until the "German Duke" revenge bit on the Host(ess) of the Garter.  He doesn't have many lines, but they're the window into playing the character.  He wants the next drink at all costs.  Perhaps he goes along with the German Duke prank because Sir Hugh and Dr. Caius ply him with booze.

Bardolph is Shakespeare's only character which you can say undeniably appears in every play of the Henriad.  In Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, he is Falstaff's right hand and Prince Hal and Falstaff's main drinking buddy.  He is seen as little else.  It is established here that he is red-faced, the tell tale sign of a drinker.  The "Scarlet and John" joke from Robin Hood is first used in 2 Henry IV.  In Henry V, he has a much more important dramatic role.  As the English armies have conquered France, they have been warned to not interfere with the French citizens or disturb their way of life.  When Bardolph is caught stealing, he is sentenced to hang.  When King Henry comes in, he refuses to pardon Bardolph for his crimes and says that the sentence is good one.While Falstaff is used to show Prince Hal's abandonment of immaturity at the end of 2 Henry IV as he takes the throne, it Hal/Henry's sacrifice of Bardolph that shows the new King Henry's awareness that there is a greater good that must always be served. 

Pistol and Nym refusing Falstaff's request

Pistol is created for 2 Henry IV, and he, like Justice Shallow, Slender, Mistress Quickly and (only appearing in 2 Henry IV) Silence, becomes a manifestation of his name.  Pistol is quick-tempered, bombastic, sarcastic and volatile.  At the same time he is fairly realistic to his surroundings.  Of course, he is the one to rebel against Falstaff's wishes, leading to Falstaff's undoing.

He is the outward manifestation of Falstaff's slyness, trickery and self-assurance. He takes a rather antagonistic bent with Falstaff in the second half of the play, but still keeps his wits about him, always looking out for himself.  By the time Henry V rolls around he is the last of any of these characters still standing; he endures.  He knows what it takes to get ahead an follows those measures at almost any cost.  Is Pistol the manifestation of Falstaff's ego?

In Henry V, Pistol is married to Mistress Quickly, whom he calls Nell.  He and Nym start Henry V, near the end of a long standing feud over Quickly's love.  Does this manifest itself in Merry Wives?  Possibly.  Especially if the Mistress Quickly in all four plays is meant to be the same person.  By the end of the Henriad, he learns Quickly has died of syphilis and with both Bardolph and Nym hanged for crimes against the citizens of France, he decides to steal back to England and return to thievery to survive.

Pistol, Nym and Bardolph leading Slender

Nym also takes an active part in the rebellion against Falstaff, but his way is far more comical.  In Henry V, which arguably was the play which the character was created for, Nym has a short comic sequence confusing and playing on the multiple definitions of the word "humour".  Couple this with the fact that he is such a dour and sad sack character, and the irony is heightened.  This must have been a huge hit, for in Merry Wives, his melancholia is more extreme and every line but one or two has the word "humour" in it.  I can see it being the 400-year predecessor to Ben Stein's "Bueller...Bueller...Bueller".  An instantly recognizable bit that would have Shakespeare's audiences howling.

His "internal struggle" with finding the right "humour" is priceless, and sets him up as the the critical thinker of this three.  Is he the manifestation of Falstaff's super ego?  He obviously is the exaggeration of the touching melancholia and bitterness that Falstaff exudes in both of the Henry IV plays.

Nym and Pistol chasing tail

One of my favorite bits is his last speech, fairly early in the play.  He tells Page that Flastaff is up to no good, and then bids adieu.  He is done and over it.  He is checking out. It's absolutely perfect for the character, but I think we will use him later in the play, though he has no more lines.  I feel somewhat of an obligation to play up the potential relationship with Quickly,  plus if we expand the German Duke section, I'll need him.

Nym is also hanged in France for his crimes, after accepting the loss of Quickly to Pistol.  A rather sad yet fitting end to one so despairing.








Costume Notes:

Bardolph

--2 piece suit of any color, dirty shirt, suspenders, arm garters, gun, apron. 

Pistol

--Dark/Black 3 piece suit with double-breasted vest (black or red), white shirt, red tie, hat, gun

--German Duke costume

--Hobgoblin costume





Nym

--Dark pants, suspenders, western-bib style shirt, gun, knife

--German Duke costume

 

--White fairy costume (robe, headpiece)