Sir Hugh Evans

Sir Hugh listens

Sir Hugh Evans is a bit of a conundrum.  Shakespeare seems to want it two ways.  He mercilessly makes fun of the Welsh by exaggerating Evans' accent, but he never really goes after them.  He also want Sir Hugh to be the mender of souls, but is careful when attacking the man's profession or station.

Evans is a parson from Wales, and as such quite a few jokes come from his very thick accent.  He is a point of ridicule, but not nearly as much the French Dr. Caius.  There seems to be little real mockery towards the Welsh in the script, unlike the French who take it full on in the face.  Instead, Evans is made ridiculous by the tenants of his own character.

He talks in circles, and at times contradicts himself within the course of a single speech.  The playing of this is key.  It needs to make sense to him and no one else; a sort of Monty Python-esque tribute.

Robin, Simple and Rugby

Falstaff and Robin

Another of the many "threes" in Merry Wives, the young servants Robin, Peter Simple and John Rugby serve many purposes in the play.  They obviously serve their masters and do their bidding; they serve Shakespeare's literary purpose of having the lower class demonstrate the folly of the upper class; they serve our production's purpose of having significant roles for children under the age of 13.

Fenton

Fenton.  What a sap.

Fenton says himself that he first wooed Anne to get at her father's money.  But then he fell in love with her.  And oh, how he fell.

Anne Page

Anne's an interesting bird.  She's is the driving force of the B-plot in the show, and the only chance we have at a "happy ending".

At first blush she seems just the typical ingenue:  young, beautiful and destined for marriage.  And when you examine just her lines she doesn't have a lot to say.  She doesn't want to marry Dr. Cauis; she thinks Slender is a joke; she seems to have chosen Fenton.  But why Fenton?

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.