Writer/Adaptor/Book: Lauren Gunderson
Director: Bill Buckhurst
Music and Lyrics: Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Nick Finlow, Kait Kerrigan
All the ingredients are here. Some high profile songwriters, the story from an already globally popular book and Hollywood film, and a talented and experienced team. So why is this so flat?
It’s a version of Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling book of the same name, converted to the stage and backed with songs mainly written by Dave Steward (he of the Eurythmics and some incredible solo work) and Joss Stone (soulful singer and songwriter). It slightly shifts the focus from the book and film to be more about the actual “Wife” of the title, Clare, and tries to bring out her side of what it feels like to have a husband who pops off to different time periods unexpectedly and uncontrollably.
Presented as a grand romance, it delivers a confusing story that’s hard to feel excited about. A whizzy set design and greatly entertaining illusions (thank you to Anna Fleischle and Chris Fisher respectively for those) go some way towards grounding us with what’s going on, but they can only go so far. Chiefly, and it seems quite a miss for a love story, it’s hard to find any actual reason for the two main characters to actually be in love.
Apart from the fact that, rather creepily, Henry (well played, though without much spark by David Hunter) has been time travelling back to visit Clare (Joanna Woodward) since she was a pre-teen, and they repeatedly declare love, there’s a lack of chemistry, romance, tension or drama to it all. They simply exist for much of the piece with some blips as he pops off to other time periods and she feels justifiably lonely and frustrated. It’s hard to find a thrusting narrative line to drive a bit of interest in where this is all going.
Alongside some storyline inconsistencies (he doesn’t know when he will time travel until his final time when he knows everything down to the minute, Clare miscarriages because of his genetic mix, until she doesn’t) there’s just too much in here that we’re supposed to just accept. Elements that are raised throughout, like his quest to cure his travelling tendencies, just fade away leaving us to wonder what their point is.
The music (played with much life and energy by a live band under musical director Katherine Woolley) is hit or miss. A few great numbers do crop up like the duet One Day between older and younger Clare which is lovely musically, though the content is uninspiring. Clare’s strident song I’m In Control is the highlight of the whole show, a wonderful showcase for the powerful vocals and performance skills of Joanna Woodward. Contrast this with the pop/blues pastiche of Damn Fool Love and the variability in what we’re being shown becomes clear. Steward and Stone are undoubtedly fine musical creators and there are moments of beauty in certain passages, but as a collection with one or two outliers at either end of the quality spectrum, there’s not much to differentiate the pieces from one another.
With the story issues and the music, the splashy visuals, which are perfectly fine in their own right, subsequently have the air of trying to distract from the other production elements and come off as overkill. The opening of Act 2 in particular makes this point. It looks like a James Bond film opening credit montage – visually fantastic and dramatic – but has little to do with the rest of the evening.
With eight individuals and companies listed as producers, it’s tempting to feel that all these cooks have not so much spoiled the broth but just made it bland and nonthreatening so they can serve it to as many audience members as possible. It feels like a show that’s trying hard to make its money back, rather than trying to deliver something of genuine lasting value to an audience.
Runs until 30 March 2024
