A new production of William Somerset Maugham’s comedy The Constant Wife comes to Oxford next month.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production, adapted by Laura Wade and directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey, opens at the Oxford Playhouse on Monday 2 February and runs until Saturday 7 February.
First staged in 1927, The Constant Wife is a sharp comedy of manners centred on Constance (outwardly the perfect wife and mother) whose comfortable world is complicated by a husband who is “devoted” both to her and to his mistress, who happens to be her best friend.
As Constance begins to see the rules of her marriage more clearly, she faces a choice: accept the life she has, or reshape it on her own terms. Written a century ago, the play has been newly reimagined by Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade.
Cast and creative team
Kara Tointon plays Constance. She is known for playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion in London’s West End, for TV roles including Mr Selfridge, and as a winner of Strictly Come Dancing.
Joining her is Amy Vicary-Smith as Martha, who previously performed with the Musical Youth Company of Oxford and returns to the city following professional work including The Duchess (of Malfi) at Trafalgar Studios and Machinal at Orange Tree Theatre.
The cast also includes:
- Jules Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Ghost the Musical) as Mortimer
- Tim Delap (Peaky Blinders, Greek Tragedy Masterclass on Film: Antigone for TORCH, Oxford) as John
- Gloria Onitiri (Hadestown, A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic) as Marie-Louise
- Alex Mugnaioni (The Taming of the Shrew at the Globe Theatre, King Lear at the Bodleian Library, Oxford) as Bernard
- Philip Rham (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Jane Eyre for Shared Experience) as Bentley
- Sara Crowe (Calendar Girls, Four Weddings & A Funeral, Private Lives) as Mrs Culver
Also joining the company are Sam Flint, Jocasta King and Jane Lambert.
RSC Co-Artistic Directors Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans said:
“Our ambition is to bring joy to as many audiences as possible, deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and so we are thrilled to be bringing The Constant Wife to stages across the UK, following its success at the Swan in Stratford.
“It will be so exciting to get back into the rehearsal room with our new company, led by the brilliant Kara Tointon, and for us to bring Laura Wade’s razor-sharp script to life.”
Tickets
Tickets for The Constant Wife at the Oxford Playhouse start from £15. To book, contact the box office on 01865 305305 or visit www.oxfordplayhouse.com.
The Constant Wife 2025 Tour Dates
The Oxford dates form part of a 17-venue UK tour running from January to May 2026, before the production makes its debut at sea aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.
| Venue | City | Dates (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| The Grand Theatre | Blackpool | 16–17 January |
| Chichester Festival Theatre | Chichester | 20–24 January |
| York Theatre Royal | York | 26–31 January |
| Oxford Playhouse | Oxford | 2–7 February |
| Richmond Theatre | Richmond | 9–14 February |
| Brighton Theatre Royal | Brighton | 23–28 February |
| Chelmsford Theatre | Chelmsford | 2–7 March |
| Liverpool Playhouse | Liverpool | 10–14 March |
| The Lowry | Salford | 16–21 March |
| The Arts Theatre | Cambridge | 23–28 March |
| Edinburgh Festival Theatre | Edinburgh | 31 March – 4 April |
| Theatre Severn | Shrewsbury | 7–11 April |
| Leeds Grand Theatre | Leeds | 13–18 April |
| Cheltenham Everyman Theatre | Cheltenham | 20–24 April |
| Lighthouse | Poole | 27 April – 2 May |
| Malvern Festival Theatre | Malvern | 5–9 May |
| Theatre Royal | Bath | 11–16 May |
