SHAKESPEARE UNSTAGED | Merry Wives of Windsor

This event is happening at The Reading Abbey Ruins

Our cast rehearses and performs on the same day to recreate original theatre practice, next up Merry Wives of Windsor in a very special location: Reading Abbey Ruins!

Friday 31st July 7.30 - 9.30pm
Book Now https://www.theatredeli.co.uk/Event/shakespeare-unstaged-merry-wives-of-windsor
A Shakespeare play put on in a day!

Directed by Emily Jenkins of Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare Unstaged® was inspired by the diary of a manager at an Elizabethan theatre, which revealed that a company of actors might have put on forty plays in a year. And that these had to be rehearsed in a matter of days. In 2026, Shakespeare Unstaged® and Theatre Deli bring you Shakespeare's original comedy cycle from quarto, rehearsing and performing one play in one day each time.

The first of our Comedies season... Merry Wives of Windsor! Falstaff tries to pursue two married women; the women are smart; they put him in a river, dress him as a woman, and bring him to a haunted forest; everyone is happy.

60 Hour Shakespeare have raised over £9k for charity. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Theatre Deli in keeping spaces affordable and in supporting emerging artists through residencies, commissions and our Shift + Space programme. 60 hour Shakespeare have also featured four productions on BBC Radio and have worked with Colin Hurley and Michael Corbidge. Please see some reviews of our productions below.

‘I saw a piece of theatrical bravura on Monday – a wonderful production of Hamlet, rehearsed and put together over just one weekend. The strong sense of movement created a special dynamic – you felt that almost anything could happen.’ (Susan Creed, Henley Standard)

‘The use of language was brilliant, and the performances throughout were spirited and in turns both hilarious and moving.’ (Ali de Souza, Director of Drama at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School)

https://www.theatredeli.co.uk/Event/shakespeare-unstaged-merry-wives-of-windsor