Shakespeare and (Eco-) Performance History: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Seismic shifts have taken place in the theatrical meanings of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' across the centuries as Shakespeare’s play has relocated to Windsors across the world and journeyed along the production/ adaptation/ appropriation continuum. This (eco-)performance history of Shakespeare’s 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' not only offers the first in-depth analysis of the play in production, with a particular scrutiny of the productions’ representation of merry women, but also utilises the comedy’s forest-aware dramaturgy to explore Mistress Page’s concept of being ‘frugal in my mirth’ in relation to sustainable theatre practices. Herne’s 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.