The Provoked Wife April 2014
The Provoked Wife April 2014

About the Author …
Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726) was a Londoner, one of nineteen children. He worked in the wine trade, then as a merchant in India, became a soldier, possibly a spy and experienced a few years in prison in France – all before the age of 30. Later in life he became an architect, but when still in his thirties, he wrote a handful of plays for the London stage of which the comedies The Relapse and The Provoked Wife were the most successful.

About the Play …
The Provoked Wife opened in April 1697 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields theatre, when Vanbrugh was 33 years old. The leading actor-manager of the age, Thomas Betterton –regarded as the greatest English actor between Richard Burbage and David Garrick– created the role of Sir John, and the play was a huge popular success, remaining in the repertoire for 75 years. The drunken Sir John dressed as a clergyman in the first edition, but this caused so much offence Vanbrugh was forced to revise this in later versions. In 1744 David Garrick adapted the play making Sir John mischievous but charming ‘a joyous, agreeable, wicked dog’. The play was revived by the National Theatre in 1980 with Dorothy Tutin as Lady Fancyful, Geraldine McEwen as Lady Brute, Lindsay Duncan as Belinda and Brenda Blethyn as Mademoiselle.

About this Production …
Just as David Garrick adapted the play to suit the less robust taste of his age, so this version of The Provoked Wife has been specially edited and adapted for Estuary Players, updating Vanbrugh’s play to the Jazz Age and the era of Art Deco, sometime after the world war and before the Divorce Law reform of 1937. Free from what can sometimes be the distraction of Restoration costumes and wigs, the original impact of this great English comedy, which examines the crucial problem of women’s rights in marriage, can again emerge. Just as today, comedy is used to explore serious social issues. Is a wife, trapped in a loveless marriage, provoked by her husband’s drunken and dissolute behaviour, entitled to take a lover? While all round her – friends, relations and servants – are performing mating rituals, should Lady Brute give way to the advances of Mr Constant and commit adultery? Or are marriage vows for life?

About the Kit-Cat Club …
Vanbrugh was a member of the Whig political and literary Kit-Cat Club. This was a group of well-connected, fashionable men, who met not only to socialise, drink toasts to fashionable beauties and eat mutton pies (‘Kit-Cats’), but also to work for the serious political end of ensuring a protestant succession to the throne, so excluding the Catholic heirs of James II. When the German protestant George I became king, he knighted John Vanbrugh. This Kit-Cat Club had the same name, but no other connection at all with the night-club opened in the 1920s in the Haymarket, close to the site of Vanbrugh’s old theatre. This latter Kit-Cat Club flourished between 1925 and 1931 as a fashionable dining and dancing club in the Jazz Age and many leading singers, musicians and dancers of the day appeared there. That is why we have decided to set one of the scenes in our production in that club. The song we feature there ‘Cocktails for Two’ was in fact written in 1934, three years after the Kit-Cat Club had closed so, strictly speaking, it is anachronistic – but we have sought in this production to evoke the spirit of an age, rather than be pedantically exact.

About Divorce Law …
The rights of women in marriage was a theme explored more than once in Restoration Comedy. Farquhar’s The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707), produced by Estuary Players in 2004, also examined the plight of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to a drunken and abusive husband, In 1697 divorce was not a realistic option. Rare and very expensive, it required a private bill in the House of Lords, and even if successful, compromised the parties’ social standing. A change in the law in 1857 made divorce easier for husbands who could then divorce their wives on the grounds of adultery – but women could only divorce their husbands if they could also prove them guilty of additional offences such as incest or sodomy. Only in 1937 were women given the same rights as men.

About the Traverse Stage…
Tonight’s play is performed on a Traverse Stage, a form of staging Estuary Players have not used since Dancers in the Leaves in 2000. It is a particularly intimate form of staging in which no member of the audience is very far from the stage, so is well suited to a play in which characters often make asides to the audience and take them into their confidence. Each half of the audience sees across the stage a mirror image of itself, so we are always reminded we are in a theatre, where the artificial is juxtaposed to the real. At times the action you see on stage is an intimate human drama played in a naturalistic way and exploring real personal dilemmas. At other times it is stylised or just farcical. The theatre encompasses all, and you are never allowed to forget you are in a theatre.

Cast and Crew

Sir John Brute, an unhappy husband Anthony Morris
Lady Brute, a provoked wife Clare Philbrock
Mrs Belinda, a wealthy widow Chris Eilbeck
Rasor, butler to Sir John Bob Drury
Lovewell, Lady’s Maid to Lady Brute Rose Gander
Lucy, Lady’s Maid to Mrs Belinda Marie Taylor

Lady Fancyful, a lady of fashion Maggie Bourgein
Mademoiselle, her French companion Kate Wannell
Cornet, Lady’s Maid to Lady Fancyful Lynn Trout

Heartfree, a man about town Howard Eilbeck
Constant, a man about town Ian Potts
Pipe, manservant to Constant Gordon Halliday

Lord Rake David Batty
Colonel Bully Cass Thorne
Barman in the Kit-Cat Club Tom Epton
Betty Sands hostess in the Kit-Cat Club Rose Gander
Kitty Fisher hostess in the Kit-Cat Club Marie Taylor
Molly Davis hostess in the Kit-Cat Club Joana Crisostomo
Poppy Motley dancer at the Kit-Cat Club Kate Wannell
Sir Ivor patron at the Kit-Cat Club Gordon Halliday
Lady Lydia patron at the Kit-Cat Club Jill Whitehouse

Mrs Batelier a dressmaker Maggie Butt
P.C. Senior Keith Palmer
P.C. Petty Tom Epton
Justice of the Peace Alan Caig

MUSICIANS
Ben Beeson, piano Angela Wallwork, vocalist
Bryan Wallwork, soprano and alto saxophones

The play adapted and directed by Rob Hole
Musical Director: Ben Beeson
Assistant Director & Stage Manager: Janine Warre
Production Manager & Casting Consultant: Maggie Butt
Choreography: Francesca Potts, Colin Curwood, Clare Philbrock
Costumes: Janine Warre & Isla Morgan with Clare Philbrock & Jill Whitehouse
Properties: Rosie Munns assisted by Jill Mather & Tom Epton
Set & Publicity Design: Philip Keen
Construction: Eliot Wright
Lighting: Peter Tapp
Business Management: Rosie Munns & Howard Eilbeck
Photography: Bryan Wallwork
Front of House: Avril and Bill Pattinson

Review

I have always considered The Estuary Players to be an interesting group. Initially created to produce challenging and edifying drama, they have stayed largely faithful to this maxim over many years. If you’re looking to sit in stagnant rows of seats for a night of ‘Vicar…where’s my trousers?’ you are probably in the wrong place. In order to provide new and exciting projects, imagination, talent and fresh ideas are required. Enter Rob Hole.

Rob’s production of Sir John Vanbrugh’s ‘The Provoked Wife’ is a refreshing example of what can be achieved with the aforementioned attributes and a hardworking and dedicated cast. Make no mistake, as a project this was no walk in the park. It’s a challenge to pull off a production like this.

First things first - this is a very well-constructed play, skilfully cut and fashioned by our Director into a manageable and entertaining evening capturing the flavour and feel of the 1920’s setting. The concept is aided by the period music interpreted and brought to us by Ben Beeson, helping no end to capture a mood that intoxicates throughout. Next, the staging. Rob provides us with an imaginative traverse stage and a basic set. The focus is very much on the actors and as an audience we feel involved as the intimacy brings the characters to life.

From the moment the action commences, we are carried along at a controlled pace. The carefully crafted characters treat us to an evening of raucous fun and some intriguing storytelling. This is fundamentally a story of love and relationships. Nothing unusual there, but here Rob gives us four ‘lovers’, Lady Brute, Belinda, Constant & Heartfree, played - how shall I put this? - by more mature actors. I could not have predicted how much this would benefit the interpretation of the play. The fact that these were not your more obvious ‘young lovers’ took the production to a different level. After all, older people fall in love too and the maturity of the actors heightened the fun, defined the comedy and gave the audience a much appreciated change from the norm.

As always with Rob’s work, this is very much an ensemble piece. So nice to see a play so expertly cast with strength in depth very much the order of the day. Indeed, many of the highlights were brought to us by the smaller characters, proving that you don’t need a thousand lines to play an important part in a production. Alan Caig, David Batty, Cass Thorne, Maggie Butt, Lynn Trout and Marie Taylor - familiar faces all - played their parts to a high standard. Bob Drury was a terrific Razor the butler. These actors can all feel proud of a job well done but I must give a special mention to my personal favourite, the super cameo provided by Rose Gander (who is just a natural comedian, by the way) as Lovewell. And then of course, there was the sublime Halliday - delighting us as usual with one of his trademark brief cameos. As I often remark – you can’t learn it from books!

To my mind, the tasty part here is Sir John Brute - the brutish husband - played admirably by Anthony Morris. This is a part which could very easily run away with you, but Anthony brings us some lovely touches and a degree of restraint. This character has all the one liners and the throw away gags. As always, the art is not to throw away too many.

As a general point the actors should remember that audiences must be able to hear - and at times, the quest for control and realism led to the clarity and volume levels dropping somewhat. ‘Asides’ are a great way of involving an audience – but we must all be able to hear them. Not easy in the traverse style.
Along with Anthony, Claire Philbrock (Lady Brute) and Chris Eilbeck (Belinda) showed great leadership in driving the action forward. Their relationships with the men about town were nicely judged. Howard Eilbeck (Heartfree) and Ian Potts (Constant) brought life to difficult roles. Ian has a very nice style for this genre and he and Claire had a lovely chemistry. One actor in particular appeared to revel in the environment and brought us the outstanding performance of the night. Taking the role of Lady Fanciful, Maggie Bourgein hit the right notes from the word go. Assured, confident, with a superb feel for the space and with a super sense of timing, Maggie managed to lift the performance with her every contribution. An ability to judge an audience was also in evidence. Maggie was not afraid to wait for her laughs. Kate Wannell (Mademoiselle) also deserves a special mention. Her scene with Razor the butler was a delight, her relationship with Lady Fanciful was convincing and her overall performance in a difficult role was very good indeed. A good piece of casting.
This brings me to the matter of ‘business’ - those bits of physical and verbal comedy designed (or sometimes contrived) to delight an audience. So easy to overdo, so easy to overplay. Not here. The comedy was brought to us predominantly by the language, cleverly constructed by our Editor/Director and allowing the actors to let the script to do the talking. Where the ‘business’ did occur it was controlled, well-judged and nearly always delightful. The wonderful comedy coppers brought to us by Keith Palmer and Tom Epton were a case in point.

If I had to be critical, I would say that the traverse stage was a challenge to some of the actors. It’s very difficult skill to act to more than one side - a skill that is regrettably not tested enough in my opinion. The great benefit is that it should encourage realism and a natural feel to the proceedings, which largely, it did. However, one or two did seem a little ill at ease with the concept, seeming too aware of being surrounded by audience. I would encourage perseverance with such ideas in the future. It will get easier and seem so natural once it is perfected. As an audience member, it feels great to be involved in the action. We love those cheeky asides. As an actor, you should embrace that and enjoy it too. All the leading characters looked comfortable in this environment and their awareness of space and sightlines was generally excellent. My advice (for what it’s worth) to those who didn’t feel so comfortable is to simply relax, don’t think about it too much and, above all, listen. The rhythm of the play will tell you how to react and move naturally.
The end of the play presents the biggest challenge in terms of sheer weight of numbers on stage when the plot unravels. Beautifully staged, I thought. Maybe it was careful choreographed, but it had that natural feel as the traverse stage came into its own.

To sum up, this was an evening’s entertainment that left me feeling that The Estuary Players is more than a local drama group. Yes, they provide us with good quality entertainment, but essentially this is a group that offers people the opportunity to get involved. It strikes me as a friendly and welcoming environment. You can just tell. From the welcome one receives front of house to a cast that simply exudes enjoyment and enthusiasm, there are many worse places to spend an evening. I referred earlier to Rob providing a ‘manageable’ evening. Aspiring directors would do well to take note. This performance was the perfect length - no audience members glancing at watches, shuffling in seats or worrying about last buses and time enough for Rob and his hard working cast to grab a well-deserved pint before last orders. Well done everyone – and cheers!

Mike Edwards