'An Ideal Husband' is perhaps lesser-known in the Oscar Wilde canon, but perhaps one of his most personal works. Courtesy of Wikipedia, it appears that Wilde was arrested during the plays first run in 1895 for 'gross indecency', in a way similar to the downfall of the play's Sir Robert Chiltern, a politician whose career is threatened by youthful mistakes of long ago. The play, asides from its witticisms and social commentary, is, at its core, a story of the male role in society, and the difficulties and complications that can entail.
The play concerns political high-flier's Lord and Lady Chiltern (Iain Stirling and Nina Flitman, respectively), the social types who belong to the higher echelons of society. Equilibrium is disturbed by the arrival of enigmatic Mrs Cheveley (Rahman) who dredges up Lord Chiltern's past with the express aim of blackmailing him for her own financial benefit. The confusions and mishaps this results in are delightfully comic. It's a masterpiece of a play, and I enjoyed this present-day adaptation.
The Questor's production is faithful to Wilde's text with a modern twist. The odd nod to the present day is made every now and then ('I'm going to a party with the Milibands') which brought a lot of laughter whilst not being too intrusive or novel. Paul Collins' did a good job of refreshing the play by putting it in a modern context, and exemplifying how relevant Wilde's story of political scandal is in the modern day. In his notes in the program he says how he doesn't see An Ideal Husband as a 'museum piece', and I absolutely agree. This play exemplifies how universal Wilde's themes and observations really are. Wilde's humour is heavy on riposte and paradox; I imagine him to have been a great conversationalist. In many ways, asides from plot, you could easily such a play on the basis of such clever writing.
So to the performances: as it was the first performance of a play that really is quite wordy and dialogue-heavy (it's Oscar Wilde, people), there were a few slip-ups and miscued lines. Although such mistakes were subtle and professionally rescued, it detach actor from character, and I'm sure such mistakes were rectified in later performances. You can forgive this though- I got my tickets for the bargain price of £6.50 and I appreciate it's quite a tricky play to learn! The Questors' actually has a very high standard for an AmDram theatre: Richard Graylin's performance as the lovably 'idle' Arthur Goring stood out for me, exuding confidence and embracing the quick-witted language, with some of the best lines in the play: 'To love onself is the beginning of a lifelong romance'. Classic. Anne Sawbridge has a brief yet scene-stealing role as Lady Markby, the pre-modern gossip who is both sardonic and pompous. 'Nothing is so dangerous as being too modern. One is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly', Markby drily delivers, who introduces the salacious villain of the piece, Mrs Chevely, excellently portrayed by Jananne Rahman. The marriage of some of the best lines in contemporary theatre with quality, impassioned acting encapsulates why I thought this an brilliant production.
A few other subtle directorial choices I appreciated: the stagehands were dressed as servants, a nice touch. Also, the soundtrack was apt (Pink Floyd's 'Money', for instance) in relation to the themes of the play, and added to the contemporary setting for the play. The suitably happy ending for Robert Chiltern brought the play to a satisfying resolution, which s where the parallel's with Wilde's own supposed 'scandal' end, underpinning the play with a quiet sense of tragedy. This is a well-realised interpretation of 'An Ideal Husband' that was very enjoyable- Oscar Wilde for the iPhone-generation.
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