Considered by many to be one of Shakespeare's finest comic creations, Falstaff has been laughed at and loved by generations as the fat, vain, boastful knight who appears in Henry lV part 1, Henry lV pt 1, Henry lV pt 2, The Merry Wives of Windsor and mentioned but not seen in Henry V. But did Shakespeare base his character on the real-life medieval knight, Sir John Fastolf?
Fastolf fought in the battle of Patay, 1429, a disastrous battle for the English where his actions earned him a reputation (rightly or wrongly) for cowardice. As a professional soldier, he profited greatly from the French wars, acquiring significant amounts of French property and revenues.
In his 1976 novel Falstaff, Robert Nye cleverly combined the Shakespearian Falstaff that we all know with elements of Sir John Fastolf (and a smidgen of artistic licence) to create a Falstaff that
we only thought we knew....
This version, adapted by Mike Stoneham from David Weston's original, premiered at the Ellen Terry Barn Theatre, Smallhythe in May 2022, produced by the Barn Theatre, directed by Peter Mould and performed by Mike Stoneham.
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