Shakespeare and (Eco-)Performance History

Seismic shifts in the theatrical meanings of The Merry Wives of Windsor have taken place across the centuries as Shakespeares frequently performed play has relocated to Windsor across the world, journeying along the production/adaptation/appropriation continuum. This (eco-)performance history of Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor not only offers the first in-depth analysis of the play in production, with a particular focus on the representation of merry women, but also utilises the comedys forest-aware dramaturgy to explore Mistress Pages concept of being frugal in my mirth in relation to sustainable theatre practices. Hernes Oak the fictitious tree in Windsor Forest where everyone meets in the final scene of the play is utilised to enable a maverick but ecologically based reframing of the productions of Merry Wives analysed here. This study engages with gender, physical comedy, and cultural relocations of Windsor across the world to offer new insight into Merry Wives and its theatricality.