The RSC’s acclaimed new production of W. Somerset Maugham’s classic comedy The Constant Wife comes to the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 March. Adapted by Olivier Award winner Laura Wade (Home, I’m Darling; TV’s Rivals), the production features original music composed by multi award winning jazz artist Jamie Cullum.
Set in the world of 1920s upper‑middle‑class London, The Constant Wife is a comedy about a society built on social manners and the politics of marriage. The production is set in a soft pastel, art‑deco‑inspired drawing room, light, airy, and full of the gentle elegance of the era.
Constance, the perfect wife and mother but a very unhappy woman is played by Kara Tointon (Mr Selfridge, Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, Twelfth Night for The Royal Shakespeare Company, and The Windsors: Endgame at the Prince of Wales Theatre). Speaking about the role Kara said“This woman experiences something that will change the course of her life and the way she lives it day to day. I finished reading it with a sense of pride in being a woman, and with strength drawn from taking a moment to really think through a decision. I cried many times, but I also laughed. It’s a comedy.”
Constance’s husband John is portrayed by Tim Delap (Jane Eyre at the National Theatre, Peaky Blinders). Jules Brown (The Shawshank Redemption on a UK Tour and Ghost the Musical on an International & UK Tour) takes on the role of Mortimer, husband to Marie‑Louise, who is played by Gloria Onitiri (Hadestown in the West End; A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic). Alex Mugnaioni (The Taming of the Shrew at the Globe Theatre, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin at the Harold Pinter Theatre and on tour) appears as Bernard, with Philip Rham (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Jane Eyre for Shared Experience in an International and UK Tour before the West End) as Bentley. Amy Vicary-Smith (The Duchess (of Malfi) at Trafalgar Studios and Machinal at The Orange Tree Theatre) plays Martha; and Sara Crowe (Calendar Girls at the Noel Coward Theatre, Four Weddings & A Funeral and Private Lives at the Aldwych Theatre, for which she won an Olivier Award for best supporting actress) takes the role of Mrs Culver. Also joining the company are Sam Flint, Jocasta King and Jane Lambert.
This production is produced by David Pugh and Cunard present The Royal Shakespeare Company. David Pugh said: “I’m delighted to be bringing a production of such class and comedy, that evolves the wit of Somerset Maugham with the brilliance of Laura Wade to theatres all around the country at prices that people can afford.”
This new production is directed by Tamara Harvey, Co‑Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with original music composed by Jamie Cullum, a jazz pianist making his theatrical composing debut. The set and co‑costume designer is Anna Fleischle, with co-costume design by Cat Fuller, lighting by Sally Ferguson, and sound design by Claire Windsor. Completing the creative team are the creative team are Associate Director Francesca Murray‑Fuentes, Associate Designer Angelica Rush, Movement Director Annie‑Lunnette Deakin‑Foster, and Casting Directors Sarah Bird and Marc Frankum CDG.
There’s an audio‑described performance on Friday 13 March at 7.30pm for people with visual impairments, which includes a pre‑show touch tour.
The Constant Wife plays at Liverpool Playhouse Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 March. Tickets are available here.
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