Let's start with the elephant in the room. The star of the play Rose Leslie did not appear. Due to her "indisposition". It seems that this happens whenever there are two performances on the same day and she only appears in one. There is zero publicity that this would happen, and I'm so disappointed that the RSC would lie to make sure we all bought tickets.
Now the good news. Her stand in Jess Nesling is terrific. Well she would be after all her performances. And having to carry the play in the lead role.
The play was written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham and now rarely performed. However, it has been given a "modern remix" by Laura Wade and directed by Tamara Harvey. I thought that it was splendid. "It's a comedy of feminist mischief" as Constance decides how to deal with her husband's infidelity with her best friend. The eight strong cast are all fine. I particularly liked Kate Burton as Mrs Culver, Constance's mother, and Mark Meadows in a small role as Bentley the butler.
There is much humour in the vast amount of dialogue, Constance refers to taking her daughter to a northern school as "Wuthering Gymslips". The set has a quaint 1920's interior, and a change of scene to how long go back in time is handled with subtle perfection. There is an original score by Jamie Cullum's jazzy original score works really well. Obviously the costumes are lovely as befit this well to do household. There are few classic plays being performed these days and I was lucky to catch one.
I was thinking on the way home how long ago was it that I first went to see an RSC production in Stratford. I'm pretty sure that it was not long after my mother and father moved to nearby Kenilworth in 1964. So possibly sixty years ago. I cannot remember what was the play and my theatre records only start in 1988. Although the first productions in London I remember are in my post of 16th September 2022.
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