Anyone awaiting the second series of Rivals can sate their desires with this new play by Laura Wade who follows her episodes of Jilly Cooper’s 80s Rutshire bonkbuster with an adaptation of W Somerset Maugham’s almost century-old comedy of manners. The RSC’s production serves its own tennis-court lust, flagrant philandering, poisonous gossip and fabulous fashion.
In Maugham’s play, 36-year-old Constance responds to her surgeon-husband John’s affair with her best friend, Marie-Louise, by gaining economic independence through her new career as an interior decorator. Wade retains the 1920s Harley Street setting, trims the list of characters and gives space to Constance’s maternal concerns. She also seamlessly integrates some extremely funny one-liners alongside Maugham’s while gaining extra gags from riffing on his dated expressions such as “you’re a brick”. The play remains the same drawing-room comedy but plumped up, stylishly rearranged and with a fresh coat of paint (we’ll get to Anna Fleischle and Cat Fuller’s sumptuous designs later).
