Ferdinando Bruni and Francesco Frongia return to the theatre and the iconic figure of Oscar Wilde, bringing to the stageAn Ideal Husband, a deeply moral and surprisingly topical comedy.

Written in 1895, the play tackles one of Wilde’s favourite themes: duplicity, the ambiguity of human nature. Who can claim to truly know the truth? Are we as honest and sincere as we believe ourselves to be? Have we always been beyond reproach?
A brilliant and biting comedy, An Ideal Husband tells the story of Sir Robert Chiltern, a respected politician and the perfect husband to Lady Gertrude, who nevertheless harbours a secret: years earlier, he sold confidential information to enrich himself. Mrs Cheveley is aware of this act and is ready to blackmail him to obtain an equally illicit favour. The result is a plot of intrigue and irony, in which nothing is as it seems.
Bruni and Frongia’s production is set in an unspecified time. The visual thread is the contrast between black and white, in the costumes as well as the set design, inspired by optical illusions and kinetic art. A theatrical universe that invites the audience not to trust appearances and to grasp the nuances: because reality cannot be reduced to a simple dualism. We are never entirely good or bad; within each of us coexist shades of grey and colours that are difficult to understand, and even more so to judge.

“Returning to study and stage Oscar Wilde’s work is both a pleasure and an inspiration for us,” say the directors. “Through his words, we believe that audiences can develop those healthy antibodies against conformism. His stories and characters guide us, in fact, towards the reawakening of critical consciousness.”