This touring production by Laura Wade, based on the comedy by W. Somerset Maugham, is presented by David Pugh and Cunard, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the sister theatre to the iconic Everyman. It is a very stylish venue, just a few minutes’ walk from Liverpool Lime Street station. Thank you to the staff for their assistance. My friend and I were rather surprised that there was no programme for this show. Instead, I was just given a printed sheet of paper listing the cast and crew. Laura Wade, who is best known for her Olivier Award winning play “Home, I'm Darling, has carefully adapted a classic work from the prolific playwright W. Somerset Maugham.
Having sat down, we were greeted by a lavish and ornate art-deco style apartment, beautifully designed by Anna Fleischle and Cat Fuller. These two ladies also curated a stunning set of costumes, immediately taking the audience back to the 1920s. There is an on-stage piano, jokingly played at various times by butler Bentley (Philip Rham). He was one of our favourite characters, a servant who sees and knows everything but says nothing – definite echoes of Merriman from “The Importance of Being Earnest”. The quick and sometimes acerbic wit in the dialogue is clearly reminiscent of, Oscar Wilde and Noël Coward.
Bentley is a close confidante of Constance (Kara Tointon). The former Eastenders actress and previous winner of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ puts in a tour-de-force performance. Constance is a frustrated and rather unhappy woman, despite her mother Mrs Culver (Sara Crowe) describing her in these words: “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances.”
Constance has a difficult relationship with her own mother. Nevertheless, she is the perfect wife and mother to daughter Helen, who is away at boarding school. Husband John (Tim Delap) is devoted to Constance but is also smitten with his mistress, Marie-Louise (Gloria Onittri)! Quite early on in the drama, Constance discovers John and Marie-Louise getting rather frisky on the chaise longue but keeps the secret to herself for a while, even from her sister Martha (Amy Vicary-Smith). Finding out that her spouse is unfaithful is bad enough for conflicted Constance, but the situation is exacerbated as Marie-Louise is her best friend!
Martha and Constance do not always see eye-to-eye, but they join forces as partners in an increasingly successful interior design business, thanks to Constance’s eye for style and detail. Later on, we are introduced to the final two cast members: Marie-Louise’s husband Mortimer (Jules Brown) and Bernard Kersal (Alex Mugnaioni) who has returned to London after many years working in Japan. He is still in love with Constance and harbours hopes that one day, they will be together. I will not say anything more about the plot so as not to spoil it for the reader.
Director Tamara Harvey has ensured that the action moves on apace throughout. There is a crucial flashback scene to a year earlier where key truths are revealed. This is never easy to achieve within a play, compared to a TV or film production, but it is sensitively managed. The lighting and sound effects, designed by Sally Ferguson and Claire Windsor respectively, are highly effective.
The show features original music composed by multi award-winning jazz artist Jamie Cullum and enhances the occasional ‘Strictly style’ dancing that has been incorporated into the evening’s entertainment. I would definitely recommend this comedy which has some farcical elements that work well, and the production runs until Saturday March 14th, including a matinee on that day. More information can be found at its official website: constantwife.com.
Tickets can also be purchased in person at the box office, by phone on 0151 709 4776 or via the theatre’s website: https://everymanplayhouse.com/
Reviewer - David Swift
On - 11/03/2026
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