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Wives
are trouble - that's a truth universally acknowledged from 'Wife
Swap' to Gustav Flaubert's classic novel Madame Bovary. I don't
think too many husbands would want to swap places with Charles -
Dr Bovary, who in this production is forced to watch his wife Emma's
graphic infidelities re-enacted before his very eyes. Fay Weldon's
script creates a dialogue between the adulterous Emma and her husband
Charles over an extremely long and uncomfortable breakfast. It enables
the other characters to walk in and out whilst Charles and Emma
bicker and row furiously.
Take
a 360 tour of the Playhouse
Shared
Experience is a very physical theatre company - and this is an extremely
physical production (particularly the salacious sex scenes between
Emma and her lovers which drew gasps from the ladies in the front
row). We are so used to seeing sexuality depicted on the screen
that when it's played out right under our noses it's too stark and
confrontational. Madame Bovary is a play about women and men, honesty
and sex .. Themes which still fascinate us today (Wife Swap again!!)
This
was one of the best pieces of theatre I have seen, with acting so
emotionally charged it was exhausting to watch. Amanda Drew as Emma
was like Elizabeth Taylor.. Flirtatious, beautiful and mean. Her
husband Charles could have been down trodden and dull, but instead
he was a simple man, who didn't understand his wife's inner most
thoughts, no matter how hard he tried.
Watching
this production of Madame Bovary is infinitely more fulfilling than
staying in and watching reality TV - like Wife Swap, the play forces
you to ask questions and make moral judgements about the lives of
others and relationships which really haven't changed since 1856.
Words:
Claire Hamilton
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