Theatre Review: "The Merry Wives of Windsor",
National Theatre Belgrade

Shakespeare by Menzl's recipe

We must admit that Menzl's setting was refreshment on our theatre scene - visually simple, though rich with plot, unobtrusive, yet very effective. For-all-time Shakespeare's comedy does not require much modernization anyway. Menzl achieved his goal - "the show which is joy for actors and for the audience"


By JASNA JANKOVIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA


The opening of the Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor", directed by the Czech Jiři Menzl (the winner of Oscar for the best foreign movie in 1967), justified the fuss it made in Serbian media. An excellently played part of Sir John Falstaff, as well as the most parts of supporting characters, along with an interesting stage and great setting, deserved a 10-minute applause at the National Theatre in Belgrade.

This comedy was performed only once in Serbia, and it was 104 years ago. This time, by Menzl's recipe, the stage is very simple - made of a large construction of stairs in several levels. The same goes for costumes - plain, with minimal details. Everything is to serve the plot and lines. The actors are almost singing their roles, although in the beginning it could bother you a bit. However, after a couple of minutes, you realize the effectiveness of the rotating stage, which suggests dynamics of the scenes, stairs on which the actors walk, jump, run and, with a really expressive speech, guide you through great plots.

The main character - Sir Falstaff, cheerful and "drunkard", who tries to get some money by starting at the same time romance with Mistress Ford and Page - is excellent played by Milan Lane Gutović. His costume is already funny enough - large belly on tiny legs, especially combined with Shakespeare's irony: "O! she did so course o'er my exteriors with such a greedy intention that the appetite of her eye did seem to scorch me up like a burning-glass."

Realizing his plan, Mistresses Ford (Nataša Ninković) and Page (Dubravka Stojanović-Gild), also very well played parts, in a manner of merry wives from Windsor with ruses, revenge to Falstaff for his arrogance and bad intentions. Situation becomes even more comical when we add jealousy of Mr. Ford, and the whole bunch of admirers of Page's daughter, ahead with French doctor Caius. Milenko Pavlov, judging by the reactions of audience, played splendidly the part of the doctor.

The loudest laugh was provoked by the scene in which Falstaff meets both mistresses in a wood, disguised as a deer with enormous rubber horns dangling, with many blue lamplights switching on and off. Boris Komnenić, in the part of the Welsh parson, also made audience laugh.

Although before the opening, you could hear some actors complain in the café of the National Theatre, the great show left minor disagreement with the director, who had described actors as slightly remiss and nonchalant, in shadow. We cannot but admit that Menzl's setting was refreshment on our theatre scene - visually simple, though rich with plot, unobtrusive, yet very effective. For-all-time Shakespeare's comedy does not require much modernization anyway. We could say that Menzl achieved his goal - "the show which is a joy for both actors and the audience".