Review: The Constant Wife, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘A top notch evening’

Laura Wade is at the top of her game with this adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s classic comedy of manners. The script is witty and elegant, full of circular self-awareness with a smattering of filthy innuendo throughout. Add Tamara Harvey’s detailed direction to an original score by Jamie Cullum, and you’re in for a top-notch evening indeed.

A buttoned-up butler walks on to a beautifully designed Coward-esque set and demonstrates, with the simplest of gestures at the piano, that there is more to him than meets the eye. We’re then quickly introduced to the sister and the mother of Constance (the ‘Constant Wife’ of the title) who discuss whether or not to tell her that her husband is having an affair with her best friend. Constance sweeps gorgeously in and won’t hear a word of it, batting off every attempt of theirs to sit her down and tell her the truth.

From that moment on, we’re in her thrall as she captivates everyone with her determination to be in control, despite the paroxysms of outrage, guilt and unrequited love displayed by all the other characters in her life. We discover, in a neatly set up flashback scene, that Constance has known all along, and has chosen to bide her time til she can be in a position to choose forgiveness or revenge. She confides in the repressed butler, and they agree to keep each other’s secrets, for the time being.

In response to the betrayal she has suffered, she is bent on proving her worth and finding her place in a society which doesn’t value marital fidelity or women’s economic independence.

Maugham’s original play, first performed exactly 100 years ago, mirrored his own life, trapped in a loveless marriage of convenience. Wade adds a contemporary layer of feminism but the trajectory of love and marriage when one partner is dependent on the other is much the same.

Kara Tointon is brilliantly in command of the whole show; it’s a truly impressive performance full of softness and grit. Every line is delivered charmingly, ripping open our own relationships, even as we’re laughing. She is well matched by Amy Vicary-Smith as her exasperated sister, who opens Act Two with a marvellously meta speech recapping Act One.

The whole cast display excellent comic timing, and the transitions between scenes – although slightly clunky technically tonight – demonstrate the subtle daily dance we all do to maintain relationships and save face. The costumes are to die for, too.

And in an evening dedicated to exploring the unfair advantage and hypocrisy so frequently displayed by men, how satisfying it is to see the woman getting a happy ending.

The Constant Wife is at Theatre Royal Bath on May 11-16 at 7.30pm, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Wednesday and Saturday. Visit theatreroyal.org.uk for tickets.

All photos: Mihaela Bodlovic

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