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Review by Paul Nelson |
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THE revival of Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan at the Haymarket
is a curiosity in that it is probably the first time the play has been
produced with a total lack of style from its two leading ladies. Presumably,
the idea of casting a real life mother and daughter to play Wilde's fictional
mother and daughter was that the play might gain something. It doesn't.
Designed by John Gunter, the play opens behind an elaborate and huge fan which
is used instead of the theatre's main house curtain. When this flies out the
set is revealed to be a series of embroidered gauze-like drapes suggesting
goings on behind net curtains, a rather bourgeois British institution, or
that the whole is a symbolic four poster bed also designed to hide nocturnal
activities.
In this extraordinary setting the story of the good woman who is faithful
to her husband, suspecting him of philandering, unfolds. It's a rather dated
idea these days but as with the net curtains, it would be nice and respectable
if fidelity were all the rage.
Very briefly, Lady Windermere's birthday ball is gatecrashed by the notorious
Mrs Erlynne at the invitation of Lord Windermere who knows she is his wife's
mother, thought to be long dead. Lady Windermere, having heeded gossip and
suspecting the worst, decides to leave her husband and run away with the handsome
Lord Darlington who has declared his love for her.
Mrs Erlynne, seeing history about to repeat itself, intervenes and all ends
happily, Lady Windermere sadder and wiser, still not knowing Mrs Erlynne is
her real mother, Lord Windermere planning to take the family for a rest in
the country, and Mrs Erlynne having captured a wealthy new husband. Bit like
a modern pantomime really.
Against the scene of a corrupt society, delightfully and wickedly underlined
by the excellent Googie Withers as the Duchess of Berwick, some sterling work
is done by members of the cast. Outstanding, apart from Miss Withers, is Richard
Laing as Mr Hopper, the rich son of an Australian millionaire, an ideal catch
for the Duchess's daughter, as the family, she tells us, made its money by
putting meat in round cans. It's a very small part but hints at vulgar horizons
which in a different production might have sent shudders through the upper
crust members of the cast and underline the hypocrisy that the Duchess is
prepared to allow her daughter to marry for money.
The scene in Darlington's rooms when all the men return from the Club and
gossip about all sorts of events past and present is delightfully acted and
teases us with a view of what might have been if the rest of the cast had
played with the same amount of Wildean style. Adding excellent portraits to
this milieu are John McCallum as Lord Augustus Lorton with tinted hair, Roger
Hammond as Mr Dumby, Robert Hands as Cecil Graham and Jack Davenport as a
by now depressed Lord Darlington.
Lord Windermere (David Yelland) here appears as a truly rounded character
too instead of the good yet misunderstood cardboard cut out of earlier and
later scenes.
The crunch comes with the two female leads. Joely Richardson as Lady Windermere,
is so modern that almost every Victorian ideal that she stands for becomes
totally unbelievable. She has an annoying shake of the head which is emphasised
by her ringlets giving the impression of a dancing muppet.
Vanessa Redgrave is equally modern and adding this reading to the melodramatic
scenes of the fallen woman trying to make amends, shakes all the nails out
of the play's structure. The scenes between the two of them are slick to the
point of sounding like overheard mobile phone conversations, and are totally
unsatisfactory.
On this showing, it is a wonder that Peter Hall wanted to revive the play
at all. From his preamble in the programme regarding Wilde's understanding
of the new woman, this production seems to be an almost deliberate attempt
to flout these same standards.
It is an unsatisfactory evening.
Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Peter Hall, Designer
John Gunter, Assistant Costume Designer Bouman. A Peter Hall Company production,
presented by Theatre Royal Haymarket Productions and Stanhope Productions,
John McCallum and John Frost.
Joely Richardson (Lady Windermere), Peter Gordon (Parker), Jack Davenport
(Lord Darlington), Googie Withers (The Duchess of Berwick), Clare Swinburne
(Lady Agatha Carlisle), David Yelland (Lord Windermere), Philippa Urquhart
(Lady Stutfield), Frank Jarvis (Sir James Royston), Tina Jones (Lady Plymdale),
Roger Hammond (Mr Dumby), Mary Duddy (Mrs Cowper-Cowper), Ross Brooks (Mr
Guy Berkeley/Gentleman's Gentleman), Pamela Gibson (Lady Jedburgh), Amanda
Shillabeer (Miss Graham/Rosalie), Richard Laing (Mr Hopper), Lord Augustus
Lorton (John McCallum), Robert Hands (Mr Cecil Graham), Vanessa Redgrave (Mrs
Erlynne).
