Shakespeare and (Eco-)Performance History

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Elizabeth Schafer

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English

Routledge
29 September 2025

The Arts: General & Reference; Performance art; Theatre Studies; Shakespeare plays; Literary studies: general

Series: Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama

Seismic shifts in the theatrical meanings of The Merry Wives of Windsor have taken place across the centuries as Shakespeare’s frequently performed play has relocated to Windsor across the world, journeying 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 focus on the 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.

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.

By: Elizabeth Schafer
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780367494162
ISBN 10: 0367494167
Series: Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 29 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Elizabeth Schafer is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London.