Non-review: The Provoked Wife

Not a review because I'm afraid the curse of Restoration Comedy as directed by anyone-who-isn't-Jessica-Swale strikes again. Under normal circumstances I sit through shows in Stratford-upon-Avon to the bitter end regardless, because I'd only have to wait for my train anyway if I ducked out at the interval, but with today's train schedules all over the place with engineering work I had the chance for an early escape from The Provoked Wife. John Vanbrugh's third play (according to the prologue, in which he apologises for writing so many) opens with the familiar grumbling of Sir John Brute (Jonathan Slinger) about how much he's tired of his wife after two years of marriage. As a result he treats her with such indifference and rudeness that Lady Brute (Alexandra Gilbreath,) who's keen to point out she's never cheated on her husband despite never liking him much, now feels provoked to pursue an affair with his friend Constant (Rufus Hound, mainly delivering his lines when other actors are trying to deliver theirs.)

Caroline Quentin gets what's clearly meant to be the standout comic character, the self-obsessed Lady Fancyfull, who paints herself under an inch of makeup and refuses to listen to anything but the most blatant flattery about her looks; until Heartfree (John Hodgkinson) challenges her to accept criticism and she falls for his brusqueness.

The thing is I know Restoration Comedy can still work wonders but it's so long since I've seen it happen I'm starting to wonder if I imagined it. There's not much I have to say about Phillip Breen's production except it resolutely refused to come to life. The cast employ their best "say cuckold and make a face" acting but it wasn't doing it for me. Maybe the second act would have suddenly sprung it into life; with the trains up the spout I wouldn't have got home much before 11pm if I'd stayed to find out, and unfortunately I decided it wasn't worth the gamble.

The Provoked Wife by John Vanbrugh is booking in repertory until the 7th of September at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Running time: Advertised as 3 hours 5 minutes.

Photo credit: Pete Le May.