Husband and wife Alexander Hanson and Samantha Bond will star together in a new production of Oscar Wilde’s play An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville theatre from 4 November (press night 10 November).
But the pair will not play a married couple; in Wilde’s 1895 drama about successful government minister Sir Robert Chiltern (Hanson), the character’s loving wife is played by Rachael Stirling. Bond takes the role of Mrs Cheveley, who appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Seeking help, Sir Robert turns to his friend Lord Goring (Elliott Cowan), an apparently idle philanderer and the despair of his family. For the next 48 hours all their lives will be turned upside down.
Lindsay Posner’s revival of Wilde’s stylish critique of politicians also stars Caroline Blakiston, Fiona Button and Charles Kay.
Both Hanson and Bond are regulars on the London stage. Hanson most recently appeared in A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory and West End, subsequently transferring with the production to Broadway. Previously he appeared in new musical Marguerite in the West End and The Sound Of Music at the London Palladium. Bond has been seen on the London stage in Donkeys’ Years, A Woman Of No Importance and the recent revival of Arcadia at the Duke of York’s theatre. Her screen credits include Outnumbered, Poirot and the role she is probably best known for, Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films with Pierce Brosnan.
Stirling is also a frequent face on the London stage, with recent credits including A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre Kingston and The Priory at the Royal Court. Cowan was seen earlier this summer playing the title role in Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe. His stage work also includes A Streetcar Named Desire and Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse and Don Carlos in the West End.
Director Posner’s numerous West End productions include A View From The Bridge at the Duke of York’s theatre, which was nominated for several Laurence Olivier Awards earlier this year, Carousel, Fiddler On The Roof, Oleanna and Fool For Love.
Currently playing at the Vaudeville theatre is The Prisoner Of Second Avenue, which is booking until 11 September.
CB