Review: The Constant Wife (Oxford Playhouse)

The Constant Wife by Laura Wade is an adaption of W. Somerset Maugham’s text, first written in 1926. This RSC production, directed by Tamara Harvey, is currently on tour and I was invited to review it at Oxford Playhouse.

The first thing I noticed when entering the theatre was the eye-catching set. Designed by Anna Fleischle, this was visually beautiful and instantly transported us to the 1920s.

At the start of the play, we hear Constance’s sister and mother discussing whether to enlighten her about her husband’s extra-marital activities. With the sister wanting to share this knowledge and the mum encouraging her to leave her sibling in the dark, the emotional conflict begins as the situation evokes feelings of empathy for our protagonist before she even appears on stage.  But how this develops later in the play is well crafted, as what initially appears to be unawareness, instead is proven to be great intelligence and forward thinking.

With lighting changes (Sally Ferguson) and underscoring by Jamie Cullum, the set later came into its own, as we went ‘back in time’ by a year. The appearance of the stage reset was almost magical as no one involved in these changes was on stage, so curtains moved, fireplaces appeared and tatty wall coverings were suddenly visible from the time before Constance joined her sister in her interior design business.

In this earlier period, we see Constance returning from dropping her daughter to boarding school and when she arrives at home she is greeted by a surprising situation. Instead of reacting, she steps away for a moment, to think about this. It is this pivotal moment that encourages Constance to move forward and go into business with her sister, becoming financially independent as a result.

The story is one that transcends time, but being set in the 1920s there is a sense that there would be a greater impact from some of the decisions and situations involved at that time. Difficult relationships are discussed throughout, however, the comedy in the play is undeniably a strength. This is no gritty post-mortem of relationships, but more of a slice of life which is visually stunning and finds humour in the most unexpected places.

The characters are made up of strong-willed women of two generations, Constance (Kara Tointon), her sister Martha (Amy Vicary-Smith), their mother Mrs Culver (during our performance, played brilliantly by Jane Lambert) and Constance’s friend Marie-Louise, all of whom seem to evolve both visually (through costume choices) and emotionally as the play moves forward.  The costumes (Anna Fleischle and Cat Fuller) were gorgeous, displaying the style of the period, as well as development of the characters, particularly in the case of Constance. However, my personal favourite set of costumes were Martha’s.

We then have three dapper gentlemen, Constance’s husband John Middleton (Tim Delap), her former suitor Bernard (Alex Mugnaioni), and husband of Marie-Louise, Mortimer (Jules Brown). All three of these men had very different characters, yet luckily for the ladies involved, at least two of them lacked some of the intelligence and upper-hand they felt they certainly had.

Despite having a relatively small amount of stage time, Bentley the Butler is the backbone of Constance’s existence, an ever-present ally who becomes even more so as the play goes on and secrets are shared between the two of them. I imagine that part of the discussion they had was added during the rewriting of this play, but the impact of what is discussed is still there. This adaption demonstrates accomplished writing and thoughtful edits to make the show appeal to an audience now, yet leave the play set firmly in the '20s.

A clear highlight of the show is the performance by Kara Tointon, who is not only present on stage for the majority of the production but also delivers a believable and relatable Constance to great effect. A wonderful production in every way, with an additional satisfying emotional rollercoaster which leaves you thinking long after you leave the theatre.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Constant wife is showing at Oxford Playhouse until Saturday 7 February 2026. Click here to buy tickets.

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted tickets for this show in exchange for an honest review.