Shakespeare’s Greatest Comedy?

<p>Director Phillip Breen discusses his Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of The Merry Wives of Windsor and his contention that this less-produced play is in fact Shakespeare's Greatest Comedy. Phillip explores why Merry Wives is not just Shakespeare's funniest play but his most transgressive; how it dares to imagine female sexuality; how it resembles Midsummer except the lovers are in their 40s and 50s; how he's a Darwinist in the rehearsal room; how tired we are of the “largely rubbish” idea that Shakespeare’s text gives us absolutely everything we need; the sad truth that there aren’t enough theatre folks who are properly bilingual in the language of sports; the question of whether Falstaff’s punishment (like Malvolio’s) fits the crime; and the great power of extra-textual fart jokes that remain grounded in character and situation. (Length 22:15) (Pictured above, l to r: Olivia Pryor, Issy van Randwyck, Ora Jones, and Nancy Voigts as The Merry Wives of Windsor, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, directed by Phillip Breen, 2026.)</p>

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