ABOUT THE PLAY

 

Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson star together for the first time in a major West End production of Oscar Wilde’s classic play“LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN.”.

 

“LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN”, a social satire centring on society wife ‘Lady Windermere’, is one of Oscar Wilde’s best loved plays. The highly moral ‘Lady Windermere’ rebuffs ‘Mrs Erlynne’ who has been disgraced by the rumours of her scandalous extra-marital affair. When ‘Lady Windermere’s’ naivety leads her to the brink of ruin, it is ‘Mrs Erlynne’ who saves her before being revealed as the mother she has never known.

 

The legendary Vanessa Redgrave takes the role of ‘Mrs Erlynne’. Her most recent theatre credits include “The Cherry Orchard” at the Royal National Theatre, “The Tempest” at Shakespeare’s Globe and “A Song at Twilight” at the Gielgud Theatre. Film and TV work include her Oscar winning role in the 1977 film “Julia”, “A Man for all Seasons”, Ken Russell’s “The Devils”, “Howards End” and most recently HBO’s “If These Walls Could Talk”, for which Vanessa won both Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is currently filming “A Lonely War”, playing Clementine Churchill opposite Albert Finney.

 

Joely Richardson who plays the title role, recently returned to the stage in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of “Madame Melville” playing opposite Macauley Culkin. Other theatre credits include “Miss Julie” at the Liverpool Playhouse, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with the RSC and “Steel Magnolias” in the West End. Her film and TV work include “Lady Chatterley”, “Maybe Baby”, “101 Dalmatians” and “The Patriot”. Joely’s most recent role is that of Marie Antoinette in “The Affair of the Necklace”, which is due for release in early spring. She is currently filming the British independent film “Shoreditch”,in which she plays the glamorous nightclub singer ‘Butterfly’.

 

CAST & CREATIVE

 

Lady Windermere - Joely Richardson

Mrs. Erlynne - Vanessa Redgrave

The Duchess Of Berwick - Googie Withers

Lord Windermere - David Yelland

Lord Augustus Lorton - John Mccallum

Lord Darlington - Jack Davenport

Mr. Dumby - Roger Hammond

 

 

Author -  Oscar Wilde

Director -  Peter Hall

Design - John Gunter

Lighting - Jon Buswell

Sound -  Gregory Clarke 

 

QUOTES & REVIEWS

 

“Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson… bring freshness, immediacy and spontaneity.”
— The Guardian

“This excellent Peter Hall production… is a reminder of just how well Oscar Wilde writes.”
— British Theatre Guide

“It fizzes with so many aphorisms that the audience is shell-shocked.”
— British Theatre Guide