You know, as much as she claims to be shocked by it, Margot Devlin, the very proper Stage Manager of A Woman of No Importance, faithfully reports all instances of sex-related topics that come up in rehearsal. To wit, here are some excerpts from her notes on Saturday’s rehearsal (Dec 8) – they were working on the end of the play:
– Paul [director Paul Hardy] was discussing the “sexual” relationship between Mrs. Arbuthnot and Lord Illingworth.
– He used words such as carnal, hot, sexy.
– He directed Andrew [Batten, playing the lascivious Lord Illingworth] to look Aine [Magennis, playing the virtuous Mrs. Arbuthnot] up and down like a piece of meat.
– The more physical the scene is, the more that Arbuthnot will change and react to Illingworth.
– Paul asked if Aine could poke Gerald [Mrs. Arbuthnot’s son, played by Nicholas Porteous] and then he yelled at me to get his mind out of the gutter – the nerve of him!
– Gerald said later that any poking would be above swim-suit level.
To see the final product in all its sexy Dynasty-style 1980’s glory (costume designer Brandon Kleiman is having a wonderful time with glitz and shoulder pads), come check out A Woman of No Importance when it opens January 25.
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