Character actor of energetic comic brilliance, notably as Falstaff at the RSC and in Alan Bennett's The History Boys The character actor Desmond Barrit, who has died aged 81, was renowned for playing both of Shakespeare's Falstaffs " in Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor " for the Royal Shakespeare Company; for a string of leading performances at the National Theatre including in two Alan Bennett …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM on April 5, 2026