The School for Wives



Wednesday 18 July 2012

The School for Wives

A beguiling comedy filled to the brim with witty repartee, hilariously misguided decisions and a delightful feeling that we should all just relax and have a wine. Cairns Civic Theatre -Saturday July 28 7.30pm.

The School For Wives is the story of a man with a problem. He wants desperately to get married but is afraid that a smart woman will cheat on him. 

His ingenious solution?  Enlist the help of a local convent to raise a girl so stupidly innocent that she won’t  know the first thing about cheating – let alone the last.  In his mind she will be ever-faithful.  The perfect wife.  Or is she?

Are we all becoming fixated with controlling our destiny?  We want the perfect partner; smart, sexy, healthy, funny and hopefully from “good stock”.  But can we design a life for ourselves and have 
it all go to plan? Is there any point in preoccupying ourselves with this or will fate and love always pop in and take over whenever they please?

In 2010, a young man in his 20s drove from New York to Michigan to meet an online girlfriend, lured by the prospect of a young, sexy, blonde bombshell.  He arrived to find that she didn’t exist and the controller of her avatar was a woman in her 50s who used Facebook to create her ideal relationship. 

When reality came, literally, knocking on the woman’s front door in the form of her long time internet boyfriend, there was nothing she could do to stop her world unravelling.

The School For Wives is one of Moliere’s finest comedies and has been raising eyebrows in comic disbelief since it was first performed 350 years ago.

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Embracing naivety in all its forms, the play is both funny and moving. Australian playwright, Justin Fleming is translating Bell Shakespeare’s first production by the comic genius, Moliere. 

Justin Fleming has worked extensively in theatre, music theatre, television and cinema, and adapted MTC’s highly successful production of Tartuffe. 

Following on from her success with Twelfth Night in 2010, director Lee Lewis joins Bell Shakespeare again to direct this chaotic, turbulent love story.  Lewis has worked for over a decade in New 
York, and has directed in Australia for STC (Zebra), Griffin Theatre (Silent Disco) and Belvoir Street Theatre (The Face). 

Most recently, Lewis directed That Face at Belvoir St Theatre and Honour at STC.  Quote from Lee Lewis: “The School For Wives is a comedic train-wreck of a love story that tangles innocence with arrogance – and the other way around.”

Cairns Civic Theatre -Saturday July 28th 7.30pm. See Advertsiement opposite for full details and tickets.

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