WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE till 17 July
Midlands
A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE: Oscar Wilde
New Vic, Newcastle-Under-Lyme: Tickets 01782 717962
Runs: 2h 40m, one interval, till 17 July
Review: Rod Dungate, 25 June 2004
Some productions are a revelation this is one of themIt's some time since I've seen one of Gwenda Hughes's productions at the New Vic. I'm glad I saw this one, it reminds me of the joys and discoveries I've been missing.
I've always thought Oscar's main three earlier plays more interesting than Earnest, but not as well written. In Hughes's present production I'm forced to reassess this view. I can only think of two moments when Wilde's melodramatic streak defeats this seriously talented director. Frankly they'd defeat anyone like the close of Act III. Stop, Gerald, stop! He is your own father!' exclaims Mrs Arbuthnot as her illegitimate son is about to strike his future employer; this is the worst offender I feel.
For the rest of the time, Hughes takes Wilde's play and gently, painstakingly, opens it up; she lets us see the carefully constructed major criticism of that Victorian class-ridden society. We sense Wilde's anger below the surface and, without a doubt, we are encouraged to share it.
The play is taken at a leisurely pace, reflecting the way its characters might while away their time, free from any notion of having to earn a living. Their cruelty, their vicious snobbery, comes over casually it's there simply because it's there and its creators look no further than their own back and front acres and houses in St James's Square. Tina Gray (country hostess Lady Hunstanton) and Anne Rye (Lady Caroline) have the careless manner perfectly, setting the tone and pace firmly in their opening. Lady Hunstanton can state, brilliantly without side, without effect, without going for a cheap laugh, that there are far too many artificial social barriers' in Society today at the same time as she's shoring them up and never sees the contradiction. Watching them, listening to them, you want to get up and kick them hard, and I've never seen Tina Gray better.
Watching these women quietly gossiping away we are made so strongly aware how brainless they are and how ruthlessly they control their society. Wilde plus Hughes make it look effortless.
And into this Wilde introduces the American heiress, Hester (Juliette Goodman). Hester comes from a newer, perhaps better or fresher, society a meritocracy. But Hester is a puritan, freed from class she is fettered by religion. Goodman takes this head on she defines clearly and unequivocally Hester's journey, fuelled by love, from Puritanism to a belief much more generous.
Jonathon Coote is a laid-back aristo wearing an almost permanent sneer. He is, I feel, vocally under-energised in his earlier scenes (particularly with short lines) but Coote is another that shows his character's remarkable journey. He pulls off something of an impossible feat in the play's final moments; he enables us to believe his love for his new-found son is genuine (we are moved) without giving us a sentimental change in his essential, casual, emotional viciousness.
Janice McKenzie's Mrs Allonby is strong. Powerfully portraying this woman's passions and confusions we see flesh and blood not a two-dimensional cipher. The power here, in partnership with Coote's performance, is that we truly believe that Mrs Allonby might, at any moment, relent, marry Illingworth and give the play a happy ending. Their emotional power is real, never outweighing the drama that gives birth to it.
In Patrick Connellan's elegant settings, this production is a real eye-opener.
Lady Stutfield: Vanessa Bray
Lord Illingworth: Jonathon Coote
Hester: Juliette Goodman
Lady Hunstanton: Tina Gray
Mrs Allonby: Katherine Grice
Mrs Arbuthnot: Janice McKenzie
Sir John: Alan McMahon
Lady Caroline: Anne Rye
Mr Kelvill MP: John Webb
Gerald: Dylan Williams
Director: Gwenda Hughes
Designer: Patrick Connellan
Voice Coach: Mark Langley
Lighting Designer: James Farncombe
Sound Designer: James Earls-Davis
2004-06-27 17:42:49