“The ‘Wife of Bath’ is an everywoman, but she’s also a singular literary creation, a character who transcends her moment.”
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“...‘The Wife of Willesden’ can seem more of Chaucer’s time than our own, despite its modern trappings.”
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“ ‘The Wife’ in essence espouses the view that men ought to respect their wives to the point of allowing women to rule the roost...Most of us, I’d venture, would be content with equality and mutual respect...In this instance, the best response might be to sit back and enjoy it as the playwright goes her clever, merry way.”
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“This is no one-woman show: Alvita gets plenty of support from her squad...But Alvita drives the narrative from start to finish. It’s a mammoth, hugely challenging role, and Perkins is phenomenal—hilarious, sexy, shattering, and one heck of a dancer. And she does it all in heels!”
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“ ‘The Wife of Willesden’ is a proudly local piece–I definitely felt like I was missing cues about relationships and class from details like accents and costumes and referents that went over the head of the American audience.”
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“...Smith has transformed Alyson to Alvita, a Jamaica-born Londoner of today, in a comedy faithful to its source material yet discerning about contemporary social issues.”
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“ ‘The Wife of Willesden’ emerges as more than just an academic exercise in precocity, thanks in part to director Indhu Rubasingham’s clever staging.”
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