Globe Education Online

directed by Christopher Luscombe

Imagining that Mistress Ford and Mistress Page have each fallen for him, the fat knight Sir John Falstaff decides to seduce them both, as much for their husbands’ money as for their personal charms. Wise to the old rogue’s tricks, the women turn the tables on him with a series of humiliating assignations and a very damp, extremely smelly laundry basket.

Featuring many characters from Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Shakespeare’s brilliantly constructed farce, which gave birth to a tradition that reaches down to the modern TV sitcom, returns to the Globe after delighting audiences in 2008.

Creative Team

Director: Christopher Luscombe
Designer: Janet Bird
Composer: Nigel Hess
Choreographer: Jenny Arnold  

Cast

Nathan Amzi - Simple
Gareth Armstrong - Evans
William Belchambers - Slender
Christopher Benjamin - Falstaff
Philip Bird - Dr Caius
Serena Evans - Mistress Page
Peter Gale - Shallow
Michael Garner - Page
Gregory Gudgeon - Nym
Andrew Havill - Ford
Gerard McCarthy - Fenton
Ceri-Lyn Cissone - Anne Page
Barnaby Edwards - Rugby
Jonty Stephens - Host
Sue Wallace - Mistress Quickly
Paul Woodson - Pistol
Sarah Woodward - Mistress Ford
Edward Holtom and Richard Linnell - Robin  

Discover the Play

• Subscribe to official podcasts from the cast of the 2010 revival, as they share their experiences of this productionl and how they are approaching the play and their roles:

- Will Belchambers: Slender
- Ceri-Lyn Cissone: Anne Page
- Gerard McCarthy: Fenton
- Sarah Woodward: Mistress Ford

• Read rehearsal blogs from the 2008 production by:

- Ellie Piercy as Anne Page
- Gareth Armstrong as Evans

• Myths of Honour: Gwilym Jones discusses the significance of the play's Windsor setting.