This is at least the second time we've seen this play at Shaw, and have seen the movie at least twice as well, so there are no surprises in the plot. The success depends entirely on the cast and the production.
I enjoyed the play, but was certainly not overwhelmed by it. I found the wife, played by Catherine McGregor, to be too cool to be appealing or to engage my sympathy. Idealism is one thing, but it can be played with a little more passion.
The rest of the cast were excellent, in particular Wendy Thatcher as Lady Markby, Steven Sutcliffe as Viscount Goring and Lorne Kennedy as as Lord Caversham. Moya O'Connell was delightfully evil as Mrs Cheveley.
I enjoyed this more than Cathy.
ReplyDeleteThe play is both witty and moral and is very modern in the predicament it presents.
For me, a production pretty much stands or falls on how well Mrs. Cheveley is played - she has to be intelligent, amoral, seductive; and yet you have to feel a little sympathy for her lonely life. If she comes across as just a blackmailing petty thief a lot is lost. Moya O'Connell nailed it.
I have no problem with Catherine McGregor's take on Lady Chiltern. The Chilterns' marriage is cold. It is based on each of them having the other on a pedestal. Over the course of the play they learn to see one another as real people - you know this will be a better marriage after the curtain falls.
Great costumes, by the way (although Mabel has a couple of weird ones that jar against the rest of the cast's outfits).