Screenplay: Johnny Falling and The Merry Wives of Munnar

Johnny Falling and The Merry Wives of Munnar is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Set in UK and India Carole sticks closely to the original plot and neatly transports Shakespeare’s bawdy farce to India’s IT boom.

Bengaluru beckons Johnny Falling after Brexit negotiations and austerity kill off his dodgy businesses, but when Johnny hits on Alice and Madhu, two high-flying, wisecracking Indian women, this diabolical comedy goes into overdrive as Johnny suffers the combined consequences of his greed and the wives’ game play.

The Merry Wives of Munnar screenplay was selected by the BFI for a ticketed workshop in the 2016 Shakespeare on Film season.

Praise for Johnny Falling and the Merry Wives of Munnar:

“This timely new interpretation was perfectly pitched. The characters are intelligently-fashioned, with the key traits of the Shakespearean originals brilliantly re-imagined within a contemporary context; at the same time, I was impressed by how the screenplay added emotional depth and vulnerability to characters such as Slim (Slender) and even Johnny (Falstaff). The stream-lining of the Shakespearean plot was also effective in providing the screenplay with greater comic impetus. It is indeed very funny.”

Dr Preedy Shakespearean Exeter University

“I sat up all night reading it as I found it riveting! Merry Wives of Munnar is not only a sophisticated adaptation of Shakespeare’s play but also a heart-warming work in its own right. It’s fast moving and extremely funny. What I particularly admire about the script is that it takes the play’s central debates between the aristocrats and bourgeoisie, and between men and women and transposes them to similar provocations in the global economy and culture today, and does so with ease and flair.”

Dr Panjwani Shakespearean York University