AN IDEAL HUSBAND
Written by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Matthew Chapman
Cast: Stuart Pearce, Anita Pipprell, Maxwell Whigham, Angela Short, Rhoda Sylvester, Lindsay Dunn, Megan Dansie, Berny Abberddan, Rose Harvey, Genevieve Venning, Brad Martin and Lindy Lecornu
“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.”
You’re invited to the classiest soiree of the season.
When a stranger crashes the party of the upwardly mobile Sir Robert Chiltern and his wife Gertrude, threatening to expose the long-buried secret to his success, the Chilterns enter a world of blackmail, corruption, and hypocrisy as both face up to their own ideals and prejudices about the other along the way.
Meanwhile, among the fat cats, dowdies and dandies, the Chilterns’ friend Lord Goring is begrudgingly searching for a wife, and with his sights set on Robert’s sister Mabel, the stars are cast and the stage is set for Oscar Wilde’s most serious and glittering comedy of manners.
The third of his major plays, An Ideal Husband is both Wilde’s most modern and most personal. First performed in 1895, just before Wilde’s monumental and much documented fall from grace, the story of a flawed public figure facing destruction must have resonated with his own situation.
In its 115th season, this production of An Ideal Husband marks the completion of all the major Wilde works by the Adelaide Rep. With its unique blend of Melodrama and farce, like the best pop tunes from the 1980s, the production counts a perfect blend of some of Adelaide’s best comic actors, alongside some new faces sure to bring a breath of fresh air to the Arts Theatre.
This is Director Matthew Chapman’s second production for the Rep, following on from the 2020 covid season production "The Rivals” (nominee 2020/21 TASA ComiCAL award). Last year he directed Arcadia for the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild (pending 2022 TASA DramatiCAL award nominee). As an actor, Matt has appeared in productions for a number of Adelaide theatre companies, often in calf-revealing period costumes. Matt is pleased to celebrate a minor anniversary (and major achievement for the rep) after making his stage debut in their 100th anniversary production.
So, grab your fan, clutch your pearls, and make sure your dance card is filled in for June. Scandal has never been so delicious!
Feedback/Comments
Outstanding show. Beautiful sets and costuming. Funny and entertaining
The characters were very convincing and we were in hysterics.
Great acting, very enjoyable.
fab
Fantastic performance
great show
good morning
Funny, great performers, very enjoyable
Really fun and well done.
Great cast and well presented - never missed a beat
Good farce in the English tradition. Some uneven performances
Fantastic show, we enjoyed it very much
Great performance & Intriguing plots.
Fantastic show!!
Enjoyed this very much!
Fantastically funny, well performed. A great night out.
A continuous flow of witticisms as only Oscar Wilde could write. Our first view of a performance by the Rep theatre group but it won't be our last. The actors had been very well rehearsed and gave excellent performances. Their diction was perfectly clear with an impressive delivery of copious lines for all characters. We were also very impressed by the high quality of the cleverly designed sets which were able to be transformed effectively between acts. 5 stars to the designer! Also, accolades are due to the Costume Supervisor for the beautiful ladies' dresses and smart men's outfits.
The cast did a wonderful job of bringing this play to life. Some cutting commentary on society.
An amazing play by some incredible actors. The accents, costumes and the music were on point!
Absolutely outstanding play. Oscar Wilde never ceases to entertain with his clever wit and the Adelaide Rep did him proud with their fabulous production.
Very entertaining performance.
The actresses and actors played very well.
We had an amazing night and thoroughly enjoyed the play. Impressive performances from all the cast. We'll definitely be back to see more performances from Adelaide Repertory Theatre.
Enjoyable, suspensable & witty show +++
Very good
Entertaining and lovely theatre which brings you close to the action
This was a remarkably entertaining play, written a very long time ago indeed but amazingly relevant to the type of political problems that are still in existence nowadays. The hero was an amazingly sympathetic character despite his feet of clay: his wife was a noble creature (but fortunately made at least a partial recovery from being TOO noble), and the villainess was an agreeably witty protagonist with some redeeming features.... As for the ingenue, portrayed as a delightful innocent by a very skilled actress, she was gorgeous and deserved to succeed in life. The conversation was crisp & easy to understand, and I enjoyed this show far more than those in which people don't express themselves clearly! I enjoyed seeing Oscar Wilde live again...
Another great show from the Rep.