The Way of the World

by William Congreve

seen at the Donmar Warehouse on 19 April 2018

James Macdonald directs Geoffrey Streatfeild as Mirabell, Tom Mison as Fainall, Caroline Martin as Mrs Fainall, Justine Mitchell as Millamant and Haydn Gwynne as Lady Wishfort in this celebrated comedy from 1700, presented in its historical time with flowing wigs and lacy cuffs.

The language is polished and often dazzling, the social comment astute, the plot a vehicle for observing both cynical and heartfelt attempts to navigate the difficulties of relations between men and women. While urban and sub-aristocratic could be and often was portrayed as essentially the unscrupulous use of masculine power and influence to gain wealth through marriage, in this play Congreve contrasts the moral characters of the two friends Mirabell and Fainall, each of whom stands to gain from the woman (Millamant and Mrs Fainall respectively) he is connected with. Where Mirabell and Millamant are shown to be genuine in their affections, all the warmth has drained from the Fainall marriage and the husband is plotting merely for financial advantage, and in this production is shown up as a distinctly unpleasant person.

The principal comedy is provided by the over-the-top character of Lady Wishfort, brilliantly played by Haydn Gwynne as a society lady beyond her best years but still trying to keep up appearances. It's a long tradition in English comedy, and here it works extremely well as the type is instantly recognisable even if the conventions have changed

All the action is presented in a series of rooms expertly set up and removed by various servants behind a gauze curtain picturing the exterior of a town house of the time (designer Anna Fleischle). Only Millamant's dress looked slightly odd amidst the panniers of the late Stuart world, but perhaps it was meant to mark her out as less trammelled by social norms than the rest of the women we see. The gentlemen ranged from the solid country squire look of Sir Wilful Witwoud through the elegance of Mirabell and Fainall to the foppery of Witwoud and Petulant.

It was good to see a classic play presented on its own merits with finesse and a breezy self-confidence which suffused the whole performance.