Wilde’s wit lost in translation
Famed writer Oscar Wilde is never far from London stages, with acclaimed National Theatre production The Importance of being Earnest transferring to the West End just last year. Lyric Hammersmith’s production of Wilde’s 1895 An Ideal Husband comes 100 years after the venues last staging of the work.
Associate director Nicholai La Barrie is at the helm of this re-staging, modernising both the script and the casting, presenting an all-black company in a high-energy reimagining of the classic satire.
Set by Rajha Shakiry is lavish and interesting, with nods to cultural heritage and general flamboyance for all. The recontextualisation is both comedic and enjoyable, relating to a new audience who thoroughly appreciate the added inside jokes.
However, playing for quick laughs comes at the expense of the original text, with so much of Wilde’s comedy relying on witty wording that is totally lost. It often feels like the cast don’t understand the meaning behind the words they’re reciting and there are many fumbles throughout the duration of the show. A lack of diction and stiff, surface level delivery also means many funny passages are met with a stony silence from the audience rather than laughs.
Jamael Westman brings a necessary calm to his leading role of Viscount Goring, with all the best lines delivered with authenticity and clarity. Jeff Alexander, playing Goring’s father Earl of Caversham, similarly makes the role his own, adopting a bow-legged physicality and throwing himself into his speeches with vigour and hilarity.
La Barrie sees the play as ‘at its core, a love story’, and the central couple Sir Robert Chiltern (Chiké Okonkwo), and Lady Chiltern (Tamara Lawrance) do have a strong (if totally mysterious to a modern audience), connection. Okonkwo brings likability to Robert, even in his most misogynistic moments he always has the audience on his side.
Slight script modifications are made to make modern-day references to Beyonce, Hello! Magazine and various colloquial terms. Although these always receive laughs, so many of the classic lines of Wilde do not. With his plays always set in ‘The Present’, re-imaginings such as these make perfect sense, but without understanding of the original text, they risk falling flat.
An Ideal Husband runs at Lyric Hammersmith until 6 June 2026, then Bristol Old Vic from 10-20 June 2026.