‘An Ideal Husband’: Fine Oscar Wilde revival | London Theatre

AN IDEAL HUSBAND
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Jonathan Church
Through July 15, 2018
Vaudeville Theatre
London, United Kingdom
(0330 333 4814), www.classicspring.co.uk

By David NouNou

At first glance on perusing what to see in London when you are there for a short visit, An Ideal Husband may not seem like a “go to” show. Then you consider that 85% of the musicals in London are the same as on Broadway, so An Ideal Husband becomes a refreshing change. Being presented as a year-long tribute to Oscar Wilde, the event started with A Woman of No Importance with Eve Best and Eleanor Bron, followed by Lady Windermere’s Fan with Jennifer Saunders, and after Ideal Husband will be followed by The Importance of Being Earnest.

What drew me to the show was the cast headed by Edward Fox, Susan Hampshire, Nathaniel Parker, Frances Barber, and Freddie Fox, son of Edward Fox. However, one can never underestimate the crisp and biting dialogue in an Oscar Wilde play. It is very refreshing to see a genteel drawing room comedy of social values and intrigue of the upper classes as in harsh contrast to the vulgarities of our day. This is the type of play that is frequently presented in London but rarely seen on Broadway.

Set in the late 1890s at Sir Robert Chiltern’s (Nathaniel Parker) house in Grosvenor Square, a lush dinner soiree is taking place. Idle chit chat with barbs are being thrust about the idle rich. In comes Lady Markby (Susan Hampshire), bringing with her an uninvited guest, Mrs. Cheveley (Frances Barber). Mrs. Cheveley is a former classmate of Lady Chiltern (Sally Bretton); naturally they have a mutual hatred of each other since school days. Lady Cheveley is a scoundrel and manages to get her way through any means conceivable.

On this particular night, Mrs. Cheveley has come to ask Sir Robert for a special favor. She has invested heavily along with her friends in the Argentine Project, which has gotten a bad rating from the House of Commons but because she is heavily invested in it, she would like to have Sir Robert reverse the rating and say that it is a good project in front of the House of Parliament. It goes totally against Sir Robert’s moral standing, until she produces a letter that Sir Robert wrote when he was in his early 20s, to a colleague, documentation that was entrusted to him in secret, about the benefits of the Suez Canal. This misstep that he made as he was climbing up the ladder of success made Sir Robert very rich and gave him his high standings and the rank he is now enjoying. Sir Robert is considered the paragon of decency and virtue and now a letter he wrote in his youth could strip him of his wealth, standing, home, family and mostly love of his wife if he doesn’t do what Mrs. Cheveley asks.

Thus Sir Robert’s dilemma and the intrigue begins. What makes this a delightful evening is Wilde’s delicious take on morality, fidelity, women’s roles, folly of the youth, love and dalliances, and especially honor. All these topics are infused with his razor-edge wit, and all presented in a most fastidious way by director Jonathan Church.

The acting is precise and on point by the five stars mentioned earlier. Edward Fox is splendid in the role of The Earl of Caverham. He is the Patriarch of the evening, and a throwback to those wonderful character actors Stanley Holloway, Michael Horden and Robert Coote, all of whom specialized in portraying addled characters to perfection. His son, Viscount Goring, is played by his actual son, Freddie Fox, who is Sir Robert’s best friend and “fixer.” His performance as Viscount Goring takes narcissism and egotism to new heights.

Susan Hampshire, a great beauty of the 1960s, is lovely as Lady Markby, a role very much like a prattling Margaret Rutherford. Nathaniel Parker, who received a Tony nomination for playing Henry VIII in Wolf Hall a few years ago here on Broadway, is stalwart and brings a quiet dignity to Sir Robert. Frances Barber as the villainous Mrs. Cheveley is over the top, which in this case is a pleasure and very reminiscent of the characters Joyce Redman and Joan Greenwood portrayed in the movie Tom Jones.

For a delightful and charming evening in the theatre of more gentler times, I strongly urge you to see An Ideal Husband soon, because it will be closing in mid-July to make way for The Importance of Being Earnest.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Reviewed in London, U.K. on June 23, 2018

‘AN IDEAL HUSBAND’: Freddie Fox & Edward Fox. Photo: Marc Brenner

‘AN IDEAL HUSBAND’: The company. Photo: Marc Brenner