The Vaudeville kicks off its exciting year-long Oscar Wilde season with A Woman of No Importance, directed by Dominic Dromgoole. It is a play packed full of Wilde’s zingy one liners and witty satire of upper-class society.Wilde wrote this in 1893, and the play is a comment on the social double standards for men and women in upper class Victorian society, where women are vilified for their perceived ‘promiscuous’ sexual conduct whereas men often get off scot-free.
Wilde makes his perspective clear from the get go, “When a man is old enough to do wrong he should be old enough to” – which is frighteningly relevant today.
We follow a group in upper-class society enjoying time at Lady Hunstanton’s house as she hosts an insufferable American puritan. Gerald Arnuthnot has been recruited by the sleazy yet charismatic Lord Illingworth (played with expert balance by Dominic Rowan) to become his new secretary. Gerald is delighted, and Lady Hunstanton wants to invite his mother to the estate to celebrate. When Mrs Arbuthnot (ardently performed by Eve Best) arrives, she is devastated to hear the news that her son will be working with Lord Illingworth. 20 years earlier, she was promised marriage by Lord Illingworth and had her child, Gerald, out of wedlock with him. This ruined her reputation and caused her to life her life, from then on, in the shadows.
As she tries to keep this a secret from her son, the tension bubbles.
Unfortunately, though, most of the play is meandering dialogue which feels a little bit more like Oscar Wilde’s “best hits joke book” rather than important scenes. The set, handsomely designed by Jonathon Fensom, sometimes feels very restricting – with actors occasionally coming onstage in quite a clunky fashion due to lack of space. Despite this, scene changes are disguised by Lady Hunstanton (played with perfect timing by Anne Reid) singing in front of the curtain, which is genuinely delightful.
Despite meandering dialogue, when the moments of melodrama are tackled brilliantly by this talented bunch of actors it really sparkles. A hurt mother, begging her child to stay with her but unable to explain why, moments of sizzling defiance between Lord Illingworth and Mrs Arbuthnot, moments of giggly young love between Gerald and the American girl definitely make up for the excess dialogue.
It is always refreshing but slightly unnerving when a classical piece of theatre still feels so relevant today, and A Woman of No Importance certainly still mirrors our society today.
This West End revival of the 1972 musical ANNIE has all the hallmarks of a great night in London’s theatreland; uplifting songs, fast-paced dance numbers, stunning sets and a show-stopping performance from a dog.