An Ideal Husband, Lyric Theatre
What comes to mind when you think of a play by the late Victorian poet, author and playwright Oscar Wilde? Debauchery? Radical explorations of gender and sexuality? Blackmail, deceit and other scandals? Or perhaps the oft-recurring trope he seemed to so enjoy - a dark secret from a characters past threatening to unveil itself and bring about their downfall..?
All of the above is captured in his play An Ideal Husband, written and first performed in the 1890s and now showing at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in an adaptation directed by Nicholai La Barrie. It is, I think, of Wilde’s most ingenious plays, but surprisingly it is rarely revived on stage, unlike his other largely more successful works like The Importance of Being Earnest or The Portrait of Dorian Gray. The plot follows Sir Robert Chiltern, a successful Member of Parliament and government minister whose comfortable life is threatened by the arrival of a Mrs Cheveley, who knows his darkest secret and uses it to blackmail him. Revolving around political scandal, regret and corruption, typical of Wilde the play also explores themes of gender norms, morality and sexual misconduct. Broadly, these anxieties reflected the insecurities of late Victorian society, where industrialisation and globalisation brought an influx of outside ideas and influences, causing old social structures to rapidly erode. What is striking, however, is how enduring these themes remain. Modern cancel culture, anti-immigration rhetoric as well as shifting gender dynamics following movements such as MeToo and the rise of the manosphere, which seem to echo the exact same societal tensions Wilde interrogated over a century ago. Few writers so succinctly capture this feeling of a society which at its heart is constantly engaged in a tug-of-war between progress and conservatism, which makes the promise of watching an adaptation of his work on stage so alluring.
La Barrie’s adaptation does well to capture the shock and provocation one expects from this play - and on numerous occasions audible gasps and laughter rippled through the theatre as characters sparred through Wilde’s famously lyrical dialogue, lied, manipulated and challenged one another.
La Barrie’s most effective slant on Wilde’s play comes through casting the production with actors of Caribbean and African heritage. In many respects, Caribbean culture remains deeply religious and socially conservative in ways comparable to late Victorian society, particularly regarding gender roles and homosexuality. Nicholai has clearly recognised and drawn out the rigid moral structures that drive the chaos of Wilde’s play, and as a result, this adaptation cleverly reframes Wilde’s critique through a contemporary cultural lens that is still too rarely explored in theatre.
The production feels entirely in keeping with Wilde’s own instinct to challenge repressive social rhetoric and expose the hypocrisies underpinning supposedly respectable society. It also follows other recent Wilde productions that have explored parallels between the regressive aspects of Caribbean culture and late Victorian social values, most notably The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, which cast Sharon D Clarke as a Caribbean Lady Bracknell, a reinterpretation almost better than the original.
This cast is exceptional at capturing the liveliness, wit and chaos that define An Ideal Husband. Jamael Westman particularly shines as Lord Goring, abundantly evoking Wilde’s razor-sharp wit and understated wisdom. His performance is suave, charismatic and quietly profound, his humour often masking the deeper emotional intelligence at the centre of the play. He is an absolute joy to watch.
Other highlights include Emmanuel Akwafo as Mason/Phipps, whose comic timing and expressive reactions provide some of the productions funniest moments. Likewise, Jeff Alexander delivers an entirely recognisable Caribbean elder as Lord Caversham. His portrayal perfectly embodies old-fashioned Caribbean attitudes and generational conservatism, particularly in scenes where he berates Lord Goring for idleness and dismisses women as naturally lacking ‘common sense’. Here he is almost a living symbol of the outdated social structures Wilde sought to undermine. Tiwa Lade is also excellent as Mabel Chiltern, bringing warmth, charisma and charm to the role. Her chemistry with Lord Goring is consistently believable and often laugh-out-loud funny, making their dynamic one of the best parts of the play.
Wilde was unusual for his time in writing female characters with genuine complexity and emotional range; however, this production sadly underuses Lady Chiltern and Mrs Cheveley (played by Tamara Lawrance and Aurora Perrineau respectively). Both actresses are undoubtedly talented, but their performances occasionally feel too emotionally restrained. Moments that should carry greater emotional weight, such as Lady Chiltern discovering her husband’s corruption or Mrs Cheveley losing control before using her quick tact and manipulative skills to regain it, never fully land with the intensity they require. Since these two women drive much of emotional weight of the plot, I thought their presence needed to feel stronger and more enlivened.
Whilst Lord Goring naturally provides much of the comedy, this production heightens Wilde’s humour through movement, visual cues and physicality. Between scenes, upbeat contemporary music accompanies stylised posing and dancing, whilst body language is used deliberately to communicate power dynamics and character relationships. The costumes are particularly impressive: contemporary fashion infused with Caribbean and African influences feels every bit as extravagant and theatrical as the elaborate Victorian clothing Wilde himself would have known. Likewise, the sleek Country-House set design and vibrant lighting, including occasional strobe effects, contribute to the heightened sense of spectacle and flamboyance that characterises this fictional world.
The production also includes subtle cultural references that enrich the adaptation, such as the brilliant Tabasco-in-the-handbag scene. However, there are moments where the production risks prioritising style over substance when it could do with being a little, dare I say, messier? Indeed, whilst visually bold, it occasionally hesitates to fully interrogate the deeper sexual and gender politics embedded within Wilde’s writing. Judging from this production’s marketing, I expected a more radical exploration of gender performance and sexuality. Yet I found that beside the script there seemed to be little additional risk taken in this regard. Certain opportunities, like the implications surrounding the ‘love letter’ from Lady Chiltern to Lord Goring, could have pushed further. At times, the adaptation feels strangely cautious about engaging too deeply with bolder themes like sexuality, which is unfortunate given that Wilde’s work fundamentally thrives on challenging social and sexual boundaries.
Nevertheless, the themes of reputation, honour and family become even more potent when filtered through Caribbean social expectations. Similarly, Lord Chiltern’s predicament strongly echoes contemporary cancel culture, as the threat of public exposure jeopardises both his career and family life. One particularly effective scene occurs after Lady Chiltern discovers the truth about her husband, only for him to manipulate the situation into seeming her fault, we are introduced to an almost modern sense of gaslighting that works remarkably well within Wilde’s framework, proving once again how well suited Wilde’s plays are for re-interrogation.
Ultimately, this is a stylish, energetic and highly entertaining adaptation of Wilde’s work. Nicholai La Barrie succeeds brilliantly in re-contextualising the play through Caribbean culture, bringing a new angle to Wilde’s wit and theatrical extravagance, that I’m sure Wilde himself would have relished. Yet although the production embraces visual boldness, it stops just short of fully committing to the provocative radicalism that makes Wilde such an enduring and ambitious playwright.