{"id":897820,"date":"2026-04-16T10:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/897820\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:58:21","slug":"the-constant-wife-review-the-grand-theatre-leeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/897820\/","title":{"rendered":"The Constant Wife \u2013 Review \u2013 The Grand Theatre, Leeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

By Steve Crabtree<\/a>, April 2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare that the name of a well-know production passes me by entirely, but The Constant Wife was a story I knew absolutely nothing about. I spotted the play advertised while attending another show, and as soon as I mentioned it to my family, ears pricked up and audible \u201cooh\u2019s\u201d were thrown my way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s usually a pretty solid indicator that I\u2019m missing out on knowledge of something good. So, my wife and I decided to head to Leeds Grand Theatre for the opening night.<\/p>\n

Somewhere between those \u201cooh\u201d moments and the curtain rising, I learned that this is actually a 100-year-old story. As it turned out, it\u2019s every bit as relevant today as it was in 1926. Perhaps even more so.<\/p>\n

With a real mix of seasoned theatre-goers drawn by the Royal Shakespeare Company name and others talking excitedly about the book, tonights audience were clearly here for something high-end. And, The Grand Theatre provided the perfect place for exactly that.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\u201cUncontrollably laughing\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Settling in to our seats, the first act got underway so subtly. As did this wit, which trickled out. I know W. Somerset<\/a> Maugham had a reputation for being pretty sharp, but I wasn\u2019t prepared for the sheer level of comedy in what\u2019s a strangely relevant historical plot. It takes a lot for anything to get me uncontrollably laughing, but The Constant Wife managed it repeatedly. It\u2019s humour is very clever, with elements of farce, and that turned what I imagined could have been a dry hook in to infidelity into a very chucklesome evening.<\/p>\n

I harp on about the comedy, but it\u2019s gripping too. And that cast helped with that.<\/p>\n

Kara Tointon<\/a> was strictly magnificent as Constance. She was poised and sharp, carrying the character with a cool elegance and intelligence. A really good bit of casting for the lead role, Tointon was in command of her stage, the plot\u2026and her husband.<\/p>\n

One of her opposites, Sara Crowe (who many remember from Four Weddings and a Funeral\u2026I remember as the \u2018Philadelphia girl\u2019 from the adverts!) playing her mother was a joy. Her timing was impeccable; she\u2019s an absolute master of the meaningful pause.<\/p>\n

The set design was something my wife and I were really impressed with too. We were in Constance and husband John\u2019s front room for the duration, and it was a masterpiece of Art Deco style. It was simple but incredibly effective, framing the drama of a world of high-society polish that made the antics up there on the boards even more vivid.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\u201cStole the show\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

As regards the outfits, although of their time I didn\u2019t feel there were many stand-out costumes on show for this one. Except, of course, for the various outfits of Constance \u2013 where class just draped off her at every turn.<\/p>\n

But, the clothes were very much down the pecking order for me. In fact, it was Alex Mugnaioni playing Bernard Kersal who was the most memorable part of the night. He stole the show a little, with amazing physical humour that hit us with barely any effort at all. The mother\/daughter mistaken identity sequence, followed by a look of pure relief when the confusion cleared was one of the funniest things I\u2019ve seen on stage in many years.<\/p>\n

But then, we got another high level funny as Act Two started. I\u2019ve not seen a second half begin in such a way \u2013 a massive smile making start, and for something based on that time period, the play carries on moving at a really good pace.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best play I\u2019ve ever seen\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the theatre wasn\u2019t just filled with laughter. Away from the comedy, there were moments of profound, sad tension that swept across the room when Constance finally realised the extent of what was happening. Pin drop moments. It was a testament to the writing that we could go from a belly laugh to that hollow, heavy feeling in seconds.<\/p>\n

Not only that, it handles sexuality, narcissism, vanity and female independence with a bravery that must have been shocking a century ago. But in a way that it could have been written that morning.<\/p>\n

As cliche as it sounds, this was one I didn\u2019t want to end.\u00a0The Constant Wife is quite possibly the best play I\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s a strong, clever story that tackles modern issues through a vintage lens. I think it shows that Maugham was probably years ahead of his time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare to find a show that balances wit and genuine heart (with a sprinkling of farce) so well. And, if the other few hundred that were in attendance were as enamoured by the performance as I was, we had lots of happy people heading home after opening night.<\/p>\n

The Constant Wife continues its run at the Leeds Grand Theatre<\/a> until Saturday 18th April<\/p>\n

images: Mihaela Bodlovic<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Steve Crabtree( Writer )<\/p>\n

Give Steve music, give him food, give him theatre, tech or travel\u2026 and he\u2019s a happy man. He\u2019s been writing professionally since 2003, turning to journalism in 2017 when it offered him the chance to enjoy a lot of his existing passions, and learn some new ones at the same time. Steve can be found spending many of his summer nights watching bands at The Piece Hall in his hometown of Halifax, or enjoying a bite to eat and a drink with his wife anywhere in Yorkshire at any time of year. Random fact: He does the best impression of Zippy and George from Rainbow that anyone has ever heard.<\/p>\n

You do not have any posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Steve Crabtree, April 2026 It\u2019s rare that the name of a well-know production passes me by entirely,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,56230,91434,16,15],"class_list":["post-897820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-leeds","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-leeds","tag-leeds-grand-theatre","tag-steve-crabtree","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116414035216873394","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}