THE rogue knight Falstaff is in love…with two women! Or is he?

Is he just, once again, looking out for the main chance, on the make, tricking and conning his way to someone else’s wealth and property?

Shakespeare’s only comedy set in England, this clever and funny play is one of his cleverest, with elements of farce, intrigue, revenge, fairy magic and a hint of tragic sentimentalism mixed in.

The characters are amongst the best-drawn in the canon - Falstaff’s lazy rapscallion followers Bardolph, Nym and Pistol; the two husbands, jealous and suspicious Frank Ford contrasting with faithful and trusting George Page; the faded gentry of Shallow and Slender; the mischievous Host of the Garter Inn; the thwarted young lovers Anne and Fenton; gentle Mistress Quickly, who wants to help everyone; the cartoonish Welsh priest Evans and outlandish Frenchman Dr Caius, each mangling the English language in their own unique way; the Merry Wives, Alice and Meg, sister tricksters in mind and soul; and Sir John Falstaff, the con-man conned, the hunter turned prey, his come-uppance all the sweeter for his knavish arrogance.

Crediton Arts Centre is touring its adaptation of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” into green spaces in the area, set in the 1920s with an Art Deco set and period-inspired costume and music, with a cast of 15 plus two musicians.

The performances will be at Jack’s Acre, Cheriton Fitzpaine (Saturday, June 26, 4pm); Sandford Millennium Green (Sunday, June 27, 3pm); Newcombe’s Meadow, Crediton (Friday, July 2, 7pm, Saturday, July 3, 4pm, Sunday, July 4, 2.30pm); Newton St Cyres Arboretum (Saturday, July 10, 3pm) and St Andrew’s Church, Colebrooke (Sunday, July 11, 3pm).

Tickets are available online from: www.ticketsource/creditonartscentre at £5 per head, with children under 12, free. Audiences are encouraged to take along picnic blankets (and picnics) and folding chairs, and to observe appropriate social distancing measures.