LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN/ OSCAR WILDE SEASON

UK, 2018, 111 minutes, Colour.
Grace Molony, Joshua James, Samantha Spiro, Jennifer Saunders, Joseph Marcell, Kevin Bishop, Roger Evans.
Directed by Kathy Burke.

This is a film of the stage version of Oscar Wilde’s play, filmed at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, 2018. The play was directed by veteran actress, Kathy Burke, who appears with the cast for the final curtain call.

The film offers an opportunity to listen to the Oscar Wilde dialogue with some familiar quotations, giving into temptation, looking at the stars from the gutter… And the dialogue is very well articulated and performed by the cast. In fact, Grace Molony is solid as Margaret, Lady Windermere, a young woman who believes her mother died soon after she was born, that her beloved father died of a broken heart. She has married well and has a boy. She has a place in society – and all is well or should be well.

In the first act, she has a visit from the Duchess of Berwick and her submissive daughter, Lady Windermere is shocked at suggestions that her husband is unfaithful. The Duchess is unrepentant in stressing the infidelity, naming a woman who is visiting and trying to become a member of society, Mrs Erlynne. And the suggestion that many men are visiting her. And that Lord Windermere is financing her – with Lady Windemere tempted to look at his accounts.

She is visited by Lord Darlington who is infatuated with, wanting her to divorce husband. It is her birthday and her husband has brought her a fan as a gift. He comes home, discovers she has looked at his accounts, they have a great quarrel but he wants to invite Mrs Erlynne to the birthday party.

Many society men turn up at the birthday party including Lord Darlington. Lady Windermere is upset about Mrs Erlynne’s invitation and asks the butler, Parker, to annunciate clearly the name of each guest (and there is comedy in his exaggerated doing so). There is a lot of discussion amongst the men, especially about respectability, the behavioural women site, the behaviour of men. Duchess of Berwick’s brother is infatuated with Mrs Erlynne (and Joseph Marcell plays the role, indicating how British theatre makes roles available to actors of whatever race).

Lady Windermere makes the decision to go to Lord Darlington. Mrs Erlynne arrives, a long dialogue in where Mrs erlynne, the audience now knowing that she is Margaret’s mother, tries to persuade her to go. The men arrive, Lady Windermere’s fan is discovered, Mrs Erlynne having distracted the men so that Lady Windermere could escape, and she then claims that she has brought the fan. Once again, there is a lot of discussion about the role of men and women in London society.

In the last act, the audience is wondering whether Lady Windemere that Mrs Erlynne is her mother. Her husband arrives, Mrs Erlynne also and Lord Windermere is quite hostile to her. Mrs Erlynne wants a photo of her daughter, promises never to reveal the truth but a strong bond is built between Mrs Erlynne and Lady Windermere.

There is an amusing interlude between acts three and four where the Duchess of Berwick and some of the players come on stage for a musical performance, ultimately urging the audience to join in. Since the Duchess of Berwick is played by Jennifer Saunders, she is a strong presence on stage (a perhaps more vulgar variation on lady Bracknell) and delivers her lines with strong relish.

This was a play for the society audiences in London the 1890s, Wilde having a strong reputation before his downfall. It is something of an aristocratic moralising comedy piece.