An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband

Whilst Oscar Wilde’s best known work is undoubtedly the novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray, the well known Irish writer penned a great deals of works, including a play that will soon be opening its doors at the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End – An Ideal Husband. Featuring a husband and wife team in the form of Alexander Hanson and Samantha Bond (who do not portray husband and wife onstage) and further cast members such as Rachael Stirling and Elliot Cowan, it is likely to be a successful staging of a classic show.

An Ideal Husband appears on the Vaudeville stage following two other high profile shows in the forms of Pam Ann: Flying High and The Prisoner of Second Avenue meaning that the theatre continues to thrive with high quality shows. It was also the location of the recent revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which starred Diana Vickers in the role previously occupied by Jane Horrocks, whilst the venue’s history goes back many years.

And with An Ideal Husband it presents a show that will follow the possible fall from grace of a wealthy and happy Government Minister in the form of Sir Robert Chilton (Hanson). With everything going well in his life he clearly has a lot to lose and over the course of 24 hours he is going to have to attempt to clear his name to maintain the lifestyle he has enjoyed for so long. When a woman arrives on the scene (Bond) intent on blackmailing him in regards to events in his past he fears losing his wife (Stirling) and job and must look for the help of Lord Goring (Cowan) to help him through it.

Penned in the 1890s, Wilde’s An Ideal Husband would eventually be staged in the West End and in the years since it premiered has been seen in various different incarnations, including a published version, movie versions and broadcast versions. As a result it stands up as an acclaimed play from an established name in the literary world.

And with its stars Alexander Hanson, Rachael Stirling, Samantha Bond and Elliot Cowan, amongst others, it will undoubtedly cause a stir when it opens at the Vaudeville. All of them have accumulated a wealth of credits over their careers, with Hanson appearing on Broadway and the West End, whilst Bond is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in recent James Bond movies.

An Ideal Husband makes its appearance at the Vaudeville Theatre from Wednesday 10th November 2010 (previews from Thursday 4th November 2010) until Saturday 19th February 2011.