REVIEW: YOURS UNFAITHFULLY by Miles Malleson at Jermyn Street Theatre until 1 July 2023

‘A rare treat and forgotten classic that expresses universal themes of life, love and longing’ ★★★★

You might think the idea of open marriage was invented in the key party loving 1970s but Yours Unfaithfully written by the British actor and playwright, Miles Malleson in 1933 shows the idea of having your cake and eating it has unofficially been around for a lot longer. This 90-year old play, never before staged in the UK draws us into the charmed lives of Anne and Stephen Meredith, a well-to-do "absurdly happy" couple in a "successful marriage" of eight years. She works in a school and cares for her husband whose needs she protectively prioritises. He's a writer, a bit moody and self-absorbed as he struggles to complete a novel. (He talks a lot less about her needs.) Their strong relationship, of which they are both proud and their friends admire, privately permits extramarital dalliances. But when Diana Streatfield, a recently widowed contemporary, arrives on the scene, all glistening and glamorous, she inspires Stephen, captures his heart and the model marriage is placed under increasing strain.

On the surface, this is a conventional drawing room drama or light-hearted comedy of bedroom manners. It brings to mind some classic British romances of the period, notably Brief Encounter by Noel Coward, Mallesson's contemporary. It takes a little retuning of the inner ear to become accustomed to the clipped accents and British braying which initially sounds like skates on ice. But once your ear is in, you enter a time capsule of elegant interiors and cricket whites where there is drama aplenty to keep audiences entertained and stimulated. The script is intelligent and witty, borne out by the steady stream of chortles and titters from the audience while the needs of the conflicted characters are complicated and absorbing. Their emotions seem to have a life of their own, despite what society and rational minds dictate. The expressed feelings and discussions around loyalty and possession find themselves pitted against primal desire and shiny, new love affairs. Is it possible for the sacred union of marriage to include doors and windows through which a couple can move in and out freely? How generous can an individual be if leasing out their significant other? And what is the meaning of jealousy in this intellectually untrammelled life? 

What gradually builds in this drama told over a period of two months and ten days is the psychological complexity of such a lived arrangement. If a closed marriage, while a tad dull, might offer stability and certainty, then an open marriage brings the opposite; a knife-edge of excitement, exhilaration, fear and torture. The feelings expressed through the characters are so heartfelt and authentic, it's no surprise to learn that Miles Malleson did indeed enjoy an open marriage with his wife, Lady Constance Annersley (rhymes with polyamory) and during their marriage, she had a decade long affair with Bertrand Russell. Yours Unfaithfully is the latest production from the New York-based Mint Theatre who have a mission to resurrect forgotten plays of the past. (View their much lauded archive of work for free on their website at minttheatre.org). Yours Unfaithfully is a rare treat and forgotten classic that expresses universal themes around life, love and longing.

YOURS UNFAITHFULLY by Miles Malleson

directed by Jonathan Bank

Jermyn Street Theatre, June 1 - July 1, 2023

Box Office https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/yours-unfaithfully/

Cast:

Keisha Atwell

DIANA STREATFIELD

Laura Doddington

ANNE MEREDITH

Guy Lewis

STEPHEN MEREDITH

Dominic Marsh

ALAN KIRBY

Tony Timberlake

CANON GORDON

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf