What Every Woman Knows

Synopsis

Maggie Wylie is a woman with no charm. But when her brothers catch penniless student John Shand breaking into the family home to read their books, a bizarre bargain is struck - if the Wylie’s fund John’s education, he will marry Maggie. John’s ascent of the political ladder earns him powerful friends and the affection of the beautiful Lady Sybil Tenterden. Maggie is determined to act differently from other wives if her husband falls in love, but how will John react when he discovers that his wife, not her money, has been the making of him? What Every Woman Knows has been seen as an expression of Barrie’s support for the public struggle of the suffragettes to gain women the vote, as well as a deeply moving portrayal of the secrets which keep a marriage alive.

Our Review:

21 June 2009

J.M. Barrie’s four act classic What Every Woman Knows adds itself to the long list of period dramas presented by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and helps kick-off the PFT 2009 repertory season.

The play, set between 1900-1908, when women began to pursue full equality through the women’s movement, follows the rise of John Shand, from scholar to MP. However, it’s his wife Maggie’s impact that really sends his career soaring and as explained in the play itself, every woman knows that behind every successful man there is a woman pulling the strings - a fact that is unknown to John until the play’s conclusion. Along the way a few sticks are thrown at the wheels of this traveling classic, but more or less it’s a straight road with a few bumps.

Leading the cast are Irene Allan as Maggie Wylie and Christopher Daley as John Shand, both making their PFT debuts and complimenting each other perfectly. Maggie describes herself as a ‘little brown hen’ with ‘no charm’ in Act One ...

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