Day 162: New Play Tuesday! The Merry Wives of Windsor

I think I'll take a break from the heavy histories* with another comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor. It couldn't be more appropriate, since the character of Falstaff, introduced in Henry IV (possibly a combination of the real Sir John Fastolf, who appears in Henry VI, and John Oldcastle, who had living relatives at the time of Shakespeare that apparently stopped him from writing about their beloved buffoon of an ancestor) has a starring role in this one. Rumour has it Queen Elizabeth I herself requested Shakespeare write the play, so as to give Falstaff a love life. Fantastic! 

Serena Evans, Christopher Benjamin and Sarah Woodward in The Globe Theatre's 2008 production of The Merry Wives of  Windsor
via

How can you not love a play that has reindeer antlers? (Not to mention multiple female roles, which not every Shakespeare play does)

*It's not REALLY a break, since I'm still behind on the histories and have to finish Henry IV Part II.