A Woman of No Importance

Synopsis

A house party is on at Lady Hunstanton's country home. Gerald Arbuthnot, an earnest and upright young man, is overwhelmed when the suave Lord Illingworth offers him employment. But Gerald's mother implores him to refuse - will she be forced to reveal the secret she has kept hidden for 20 years? First produced 1893.

Our Review:

17 December 2010

In yet another Wilde revival, Oscar satirises a batch of upper-class personalities as they swap 'aperçus' on the subjects of marriage, the differences between men and women, and the poor, and eventually arrives at the meat of the piece when he reveals an unmarried mother ('quelle horreur') is secretly in their midst. Galleon Theatre Company, based at the misleadingly named Playhouse (it is tiny), have chosen to update the play to the 1950’s.

This production has a classy feel, the acting is largely excellent, and the difficult space is managed well by director Bruce Jamieson. The play is not Wilde’s finest: it is always enjoyable to feast on a portion of his wit, but here I am over-stuffed, and want more seriousness around the sexual politics in the piece, exemplified by the fallen woman, Rachel Arbuthnot (a nicely-tortured Mary Lincoln), being forced to spend years in the wilderness, whilst the stock of the dastardly father of her child, Lord Illingworth (s...

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Latest User Review

John Pindar - 18 December 2010:

This play was well acted but its subject (the disgrace of a woman who had a child out of wedlock) is not relevant for 2010. Merely moving it to the 1950s did little as the dialogue was all about Society, which again is irrelevant to 2010. ...

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