The Constant Wife

By: W. Somerset Maugham

Narrated by: Kate Burton, Rosalind Ayres, Mark Capri, Stephen Collins, John de Lancie, Jen Dede, Kirsten Potter

There’s something Constance Middleton’s friends are dying to tell her: her husband is having an affair – with her best friend! Despite their hints, Constance remains ever cool, and seemingly oblivious. Or is she? In this biting comedy of manners, marriages and mistresses, Constance – a not-so-desperate housewife - has some ideas of her own about extra-marital activity that surprise everyone in the end!

An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance starring Kate Burton as Constance Middleton, Rosalind Ayres as Barbara Fawcett, Mark Capri as Bentley/Mortimer Durham, Stephen Collins as Bernard Kersal, John De Lancie as John Middleton, F.R.C.S., Jen Dede as Marie-Louise Durham, Christina Pickles as Mrs. Culver, and Kirsten Potter as Martha Culver, and with live sound effects by Tony Palermo.

Public Domain (P)2011 L.A. Theatre Works

Fun and frothy, but with a bit of a bite!

An interesting entry from the LA TheatreWorks collection. Before buying this download, I had heard of this Somerset Maugham play, but I had never seen/heard it performed. It sounds much like a Noel Coward play, in style and wit, although it is less humorous and has a relatively serious undertone re man/woman relationships. The cast is uniformly excellent--bringing out the charm and the underlying social significance of the play--but both Kate Burton and Rosalind Ayres merit special mention. All the actresses come off better than the actors, but this is the nature of the play, which views men essentially as damn fools and women as either wise or scheming cats--but cats nonetheless. (Again, very much a Noel Coward stance!) Altogether, it is good fun, and you will certainly not regret selecting this play for your collection. I give it four out of five stars, and I will be listening to it again and again for the excellently deft touch of the actors.

Maugham on Marital Fidelity/Infidelity

Maugham on Marital Fidelity/Infidelity

"There is something Constance Middleton's friends are dying to psst! : her husband is having an affair with her best friend. Despite their hints, Constance remains ever cool, and seemingly oblivious. Or is she? In this comedy of unfaithful manners, Constance (a not-desperate housewife) has surprising ideas of her own about extra-marital activity."

Maugham always delivers

This play takes the tawdy affair narrative and turns it on It's head. Well written and well acted, more than worth a listen.

Witty British drama

A great but little known English play about the sexual and economic double standard in the 1920s. I think it contains Maugham's best comic roles for women. The performance sparkles.

A witty, funny, feminist tale of liberation

Constance is the perfect wife living the dream. She is devoted to her husband, a doctor, spends her days comfortably, and enjoys a high standard of living. To all appearances, nothing could be wrong in her world. However, she has a rather delicious secret ...

W. Somerset Maugham's brilliantly funny play is charming, will make you laugh, and is a timeless tale of a woman discovering who she is and what she wants. It will bear many repeated listenings, losing nothing in knowing what comes next, but becoming even better.