If you were an English lit major, chances are you read some of all of Chaucer’s middle English magnum opus: the sometimes illuminating, sometimes impenetrable The Canterbury Tales. And if you were asked to name the most memorable, you’d probably cite “The Knight’s Tale,” a sweeping story of romance, rivalry, and chivalry; “The Miller’s Tale,” aka the one with the flood…and the fart; and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” in which the prologue is longer, and more revealing, than the tale itself. It’s the latter that English author Zadie Smith (White Teeth) has used as the basis for her terrifically bawdy The Wife of Willesden, now at Brooklyn Academy of Music after a stop at Boston’s American Repertory Theater (the play debuted in 2021 at the Kiln Theatre in Northwest London, where Smith’s version is set).
For her first foray into playwriting, Smith has updated the setting and the characters—the wife in question is Alvita, played by the remarkable Clare Perkins—but remains pretty faithful to Chaucer, even putting everything in verse. But Indhu Rubasingham’s production is so engaging that you probably won’t even notice all the rhymed couplets flying around: The pre-show songs (Chic’s “Le Freak,” Chaka Khan’s “I Feel For You”) are gold; and Robert Jones’ set, with rows upon rows of glass liquor bottles lining the open backlit shelves like luminaries, might be the coolest barroom you’ll ever see. And when the fascinating Alvita, with her high heels and swingy red dress, struts in, the pub patrons are enthralled—as are we. “She looks bold. She gives side-eye perfectly,” says one. “She’s been that bitch since 1983,” says another.
[Read Sandy MacDonald’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Before she launches into her tale—well, her prologue, and then her tale—the Author/Smith stand-in (Jessica Murrain) offers a few words: “It’s worth remembering—though I’m sure you know—/ When wives spoke thus six hundred years ago/ You were all shocked then. The shock never ends/ When women say things usually said by men.” Truth be told, her tale is shocking, even by some contemporary standards. A woman talking freely and openly and happily about being married five times, and about enjoying sex for pleasure? (The Wife of Willesden could never be done in Florida.) What’s even more shocking is that Chaucer created this character 600 or so years ago—this woman who dared to declare that what women want is authority over their husbands. What’s Chaucerian for “you go, girl”?
This is no one-woman show: Alvita gets plenty of support from her squad, which includes her BFF Zaire (Murrain), pub manager Polly (Claudia Grant), and her prudish, bible-beating Aunty P (Ellen Thomas). Of course, we mustn’t forget her husbands—Ian (Andrew Frame), Winston (Marcus Adolphy), Darren (Troy Glasgow), Eldridge (George Eggay), and Ryan (Scott Miller). St. Paul, Black Jesus, Socrates, and Nelson Mandela all make appearances too (they’re played by the assorted husband actors, just wearing cool robes). 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!
The Wife of Willesden opened April 6, 2023, at BAM’s Harvey Theater and runs through April 16. Tickets and information: bam.org
