Review by proteus6847

I don't care much for little Falstaffs: they're a contradiction in terms. Antony Sher is too small for the part in every sense (height, girth, personality), and his old-man's voice is not fooling anyone. But he's a good comic actor; he gets his laughs; and he's endearing the way a leprechaun is endearing. Ever since Richard III (1984), Sher's audience has been waiting for lightning to strike again. His Falstaff does not constitute a second bolt, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. And if we must have puny Falstaffs, I will gladly take Sher's rendition over the scabrous and joyless performance of Simon Russell Beale, who looked like a garden gnome with its paint flaking off.