According to theater lore, it was Elizabeth I who demanded Shakespeare write another play about Falstaff, which, allegedly, is why he wrote “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” The Queen might have been somewhat less keen for more had she lived another few centuries and discovered him via Robert Icke’s joint version of the two original Falstaff plays that make up the two parts of “Henry IV.” Ian McKellen’s dominant performance is predictably mesmerizing but it’s a long way from the traditional endearing rascal. Both the interpretation and Icke’s intelligent, austere production are, for the most part, strikingly sour.
The greatness of Shakespeare’s two plays – here crisply cut down
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