Scrambling For A Seat For A Spot of Wilde

This was my first visit to The Bridewell Theatre, which is tucked away down a cobbled street in Blackfriars, I remember reading that they put on short lunch plays for the local suit wearing business folk. What sticks out in my mind, was how shambolic the press night was. They had oversold the seats, so many people were turned away, I was separated from the friend that I'd dragged along, and only got a seat by perching on a seat that had a reserved sign and hoping that nobody would notice…  

 

With a chaise longue in the middle of the space, gentleman in dinner suits and high society ladies adorned with feather fans, lace gloves and fur stoles, Turn of the Wheel’s production of Lady Windermere’s Fan contains all the opulence you would expect from an Oscar Wilde play. Set in the 1920s, the audience is presented with a society that thrives off scandal and gossip, so much so that the Duchess of Berwick delights in telling Lady Windermere that her husband’s conduct is the current talk of the town. More specifically, the fact that her husband has secretly been giving the mysterious Mrs Erlynne large sums of money, an action made even more scandalous due her checkered past. 

After much suspense and intrigue is built-up regarding Mrs Erlynne, Judy Buxton’s portrayal of this notorious character does not disappoint. Buxton has a charismatic stage presence and her flirtatious nature causes all the men at Lady Windermere’s ball to fawn over her. With only a small cast. director Adam Morley cleverly creates the illusion of there being more guests at the ball by having the characters enter in small groups and then as soon as one cluster of characters exit another one enters from the opposite wing so it looks like there are a constant stream of people. This staging is simple but effective at creating the hustle and bustle of a high society ball. 

The stand-out comedic performance is definitely Grace Faibairn’s Duchess of Berwick; she captures the character’s contradictory nature really well. One moment she’s gossiping and speaking disapprovingly about somebody and then as soon as they are in ear shot she begins singing their praises. In amongst the joviality of this play the sombre tone of Lady Erlynne’s last soliloquy really stands out, and when she talks about how she has suffered for 20 years as a social outcast Buxton’s heartfelt delivery is truly moving. This speech raises the moral dilemma of whether a woman who has sinned can ever redeem herself and ultimately be accepted back into society?

 Lady Windermere’s Fan is a play crammed with witty remarks and aphorisms, however in this production some of these comedic lines fall slightly flat. It must be difficult to find fresh ways to deliver lines such as “I can resist anything except temptation” which have been heard so many times before. For me, this production struggled to bring anything new to the text, and I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of deja-vu as it was so similar to many other classical interpretations of Wilde that I’d seen before. That said, this is Turn of the Wheel’s debut production and as a company they show much promise. For me, this version of Lady Windermere’s Fan is looking up at the stars but it feels like it hasn’t quite reached them yet.With a chaise longue in the middle of the space, gentleman in dinner suits and high society ladies adorned with feather fans, lace gloves and fur stoles, Turn of the Wheel’s production of Lady Windermere’s Fan contains all the opulence you would expect from an Oscar Wilde play. Set in the 1920s, the audience is presented with a society that thrives off scandal and gossip, so much so that the Duchess of Berwick delights in telling Lady Windermere that her husband’s conduct is the current talk of the town. More specifically, the fact that her husband has secretly been giving the mysterious Mrs Erlynne large sums of money, an action made even more scandalous due her checkered past. After much suspense and intrigue is built-up regarding Mrs Erlynne, Judy Buxton’s portrayal of this notorious character does not disappoint. Buxton has a charismatic stage presence and her flirtatious nature causes all the men at Lady Windermere’s ball to fawn over her. With only a small cast. director Adam Morley cleverly creates the illusion of there being more guests at the ball by having the characters enter in small groups and then as soon as one cluster of characters exit another one enters from the opposite wing so it looks like there are a constant stream of people. This staging is simple but effective at creating the hustle and bustle of a high society ball. The stand-out comedic performance is definitely Grace Faibairn’s Duchess of Berwick; she captures the character’s contradictory nature really well. One moment she’s gossiping and speaking disapprovingly about somebody and then as soon as they are in ear shot she begins singing their praises. In amongst the joviality of this play the sombre tone of Lady Erlynne’s last soliloquy really stands out, and when she talks about how she has suffered for 20 years as a social outcast Buxton’s heartfelt delivery is truly moving. This speech raises the moral dilemma of whether a woman who has sinned can ever redeem herself and ultimately be accepted back into society? 

Lady Windermere’s Fan is a play crammed with witty remarks and aphorisms, however in this production some of these comedic lines fall slightly flat. It must be difficult to find fresh ways to deliver lines such as “I can resist anything except temptation” which have been heard so many times before. For me, this production struggled to bring anything new to the text, and I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of deja-vu as it was so similar to many other classical interpretations of Wilde that I’d seen before. That said, this is Turn of the Wheel’s debut production and as a company they show much promise. For me, this version of Lady Windermere’s Fan is looking up at the stars but it feels like it hasn’t quite reached them yet.