The Constant Wife
Chichester Festival Theatre
Until Sat 24th June 2026
An RSC Production presented by David Pugh and Cunard
Written by Laura Wade
Based on the comedy by Somerset Maugham
Director: Tamara Harvey
Take a smattering of Oscar Wilde, a slice of Noel Coward, plus a sprinkling of Alan Ayckbourn. Place Somerset Maugham chronologically around the centre and you have the perfect recipe for all those sparkling ‘comedies of manners’, ‘drawing room dramas’ – call them what you will – which have continued to entertain us so brilliantly for over 150 years.
Maugham’s ‘The Constant Wife’ was rumoured to have been inspired by his disastrous marriage to Syrie Barnardo, whom he is said to have loathed, however this production was adapted from the original and written by Olivier Award winner Laura Wade, and bears no real alignment with Maugham’s experiences. Set in the 1920s when the signs of women’s dissatisfaction with their lot, the struggle for emancipation and, following the Great War, a realisation that it was perfectly fine for wives to earn a living giving them the independence they craved. This was true for a growing number of young women, however they also had to make their voices heard above those of the women of the previous generation who remained true to conservatism, their conviction that men were superior in every way. Husbands should be treated with devotion and loyalty, thus maintaining the status quo, giving men the laissez-faire they felt they had a supreme right to. In other words ‘put up and shut up’.
However, like most comedies of this genre The Constant Wife is a delightfully frothy piece, and whilst it incorporates so many echoes of the role of the dutiful wife of the era, it is very very funny. Constance (consummately played by Kara Tointon of ‘Eastenders’ and an early ‘Strictly’ winner) is described as an ’unhappy woman’ by her sister Martha (Amy Vicary-Smith) Constance and Martha’s mother (on opening night played by Jane Lambert) comes back with the delicious line: ‘Nonsense, she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances’. Her sister is set on grassing up Constance’s husband John (Tim Delap) about his infidelities with best friend Marie-Louise (Gloria Onitiri). However, what’s really going on is that Constance realises that ‘upper middle class matrimony can resemble a genteel form of prostitution’ and has plans of her own. She emerges in the second act as a force to be reckoned with.
Acknowledging the ingredients for all those wonderful comedies we’ve loved over the years, this play delivers them in spades. The set is just divine, its nods to both art nouveau and deco, together with the costumes of the elegant Constance and the more down-to-earth practical Martha are a joy, given to us by Costume Designer Cat Fuller. Add to these the original music composed by Jamie Cullum no less, and you have everything you need to recreate those between-the-war years when, on the surface things appeared to be fairly rosy, when underneath the social script was very definitely on the move.
The whole cast delivered impeccable performances, however the standout one for me was from Amy Vicary-Smith as the feisty, no-nonsense Martha, whose delivery was on top form as the fiery feminist, fiercely protective of her sister, at the same time totally exasperated by her. She was just brilliant.
The Constant Wife playing on Chichester Festival Theatre’s wondrous stage is a box of delights all tied up in a silk bow. It is witty, intelligent and hysterically funny. What a treat on a gloomy January night. I loved it!
2 hours 20minutes including interval.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewer: Gill Ranson