NO ONE can disagree that William Shakespeare justly deserves his place in the top 10 greatest Britons of all time. But plenty of people would take issue with the fact that his comedies are actually funny.

However Rachel Kavanaugh, above, the RSC's latest hot new director, hopes to change these perceptions with her brand new production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Ms Kavanaugh aims for accessibility and clarity when she directs Shakespeare, and works on the assumption that her audience doesn't know the play.

"Basically, I want to show the audience the delights that are in the play so that they have a good time," she said.

"I like entertaining people. I don't think that is any less important an aim then being conceptual and erudite about a play."

Ms Kavanaugh admits this might stem from the fact that when she was a child she went to see Shakespeare and failed to understand the story.

"I was so angry because I felt I should at least have been able to understand what was happening, even if I didn't understand every word," she said.

"I never want my audience to feel like that."

The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of Shakespeare's least fashionable and most peculiar comedies.

It was originally written at the request of Elizabeth I, who wanted to see the return of the rogue Sir John Falstaff from Henry IV parts I and II.

Amidst the complex plot, a penniless Falstaff tries to seduce two wealthy married women who are too clever for him, and everyone else struggles for the affections of Anne Page.

"It's the only comedy set in England and the only one which is primarily about the middle classes and furthermore is entirely written in prose," Ms Kavanaugh said.

"The language is extraordinarily robust, inventive and rich. It's a very eccentric play and in some ways the language is surreal.

"There are also many wonderful farcical moments; men dressing up as women, people being carried out in baskets, people getting locked in cupboards. There is just so much wit in the play.

To make the play more accessible Ms Kavanaugh has moved the action to 1940s England - an era she describes as the beginning of fun marked by the end of rationing.

"There is a struggle in this play between men and women and then between men and women of different classes," she said.

"I needed a period that reflected this but I didn't want a setting that was too outlandish and that would take over.

"At the same time I didn't want to do the play in Elizabethan dress as it makes a play which is already quite eccentric in its language seem quite distant.

"This can also be particularly hard for an audience who might be new to Shakespeare. I want the audience to think that the play has something to do with them, and I think this 1940's period setting does that."

Ms Kavanaugh loves the bard's comedies more than anything and has already directed As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream, but this will be her first Shakespeare for the RSC. "The RSC has been a big part of my life," said the 34-year-old.

"When I was young I loved nothing more than coming up to Stratford and seeing the same company of actors playing a range of parts in different shows."

Ms Kavanaugh was an assistant director with the RSC and she got her big break last year when RSC director Adrian Noble asked her to direct Alice in Wonderland at the main house.

The Merry Wives of Windsor began previews at the Swan Theatre in Stratford last night and runs in rep until Saturday, January 25.