Falstaff's humiliation at the hands of the titular wives of Windsor has been transferred into a 1920s nightclub for Brighton Little Theatre’s annual summer production.

With most of the action in Shakespeare’s classic farce taking place in the Garter Inn, the move into a nightclub was a simple one according to director Harry Atkinson.

“It has a lightness and zaniness that goes with the 1920s,” he says. “It was a time of optimism, when a new music came on to the scene.

“I was looking for a play which was light and comedic, but which included song and dance.

“We have been able to include The Charleston, Don’t Bring Lulu and Let’s Misbehave in there, and open with Puttin’ On The Ritz, which just gets in there as it was written in 1929.”

Supposedly written at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I, who apparently wanted to see Sir John Falstaff in love, The Merry Wives Of Windsor sees the lovable rogue from Henry IV get into hot water as he attempts to seduce two wealthy married women.

They are more than a match for him, and in Shakespeare’s original play Falstaff ends up hiding in laundry baskets full of filthy clothes, being dumped in the river and attacked by young fairies.

“Falstaff in The Merry Wives Of Windsor is nothing like the Falstaff of the history plays,” says Atkinson. “The wives of Windsor run rings around him, but in the history plays he’s a force to be reckoned with.

“He is better known for the history plays where, until right at the very end, he outwits the aristocrats and uses them. He’s someone who looks to aristocratic values and says rubbish. Modern audiences relate to that.

“In The Merry Wives Of Windsor he is the butt of everyone’s humour, there is no serious point – it’s almost a farce.”

The production is currently in the last stages of rehearsals before the first performances in the Little Theatre’s city-centre home.

“It’s not as difficult as you might think moving from the theatre to open-air performance,” says Atkinson. “Most Shakespeare plays are very fluid in the way you can stage them – there are no set pieces or stage directions. The main difference is in projection. The open-air venue is very different from the Little Theatre in terms of the scale.

“The Little Theatre is such an intimate space you can almost do television or film acting in there because the audience is so close.”

For this production the Little Theatre has been assisted by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new Open Stages scheme.

“The idea behind the project is to raise the profile of Shakespeare with amateur companies,” says Atkinson. “A lot of amateur companies are fairly shy of his work.”

Atkinson certainly can’t be counted in that company, having happily pared back the play to the central storyline, edited problematic sections and ensured it stays at two hours in length.

As part of the Open Stages project, workshops have been organised at Southampton’s Nuffield Theatre for cast and crew.

The Nuffield’s participation director Tim Ford is helping out not just the Little Theatre but also productions around the South by attending rehearsals and offering notes after performances.

The best productions from the 260 amateur companies involved in the national project are going to be invited to take part in the World Shakespeare Festival in Stratford Upon Avon next July.

“Often professionals don’t take amateurs seriously,” says Atkinson. “But now we have one of the top companies in the world saying amateurs have something to offer.”

*Little Theatre: Starts 7.45pm, tickets £7.50.

Also at Lewes Castle, Aug 17 to Aug 20: Doors 6.30pm, starts 7.30pm, tickets £12/£10. Call 01273 777748.