The (metaphorical) curtain* goes up on the Spread Eagle Theatre’s autumn season tomorrow night with the staging of Mrs Oscar Wilde.

Constance Wilde: a tragic story of Victorian manners and silent suffering

Constance Lloyd is rarely remembered in literary history.

A feminist, a writer and a mother, she is rather remembered as the wife of one of the most famous Victorians – Oscar Wilde.

This new play, presented on stage by Lexi Wolfe, tells the story from Constance’s childhood days suffering at the hands of her abusive mother, to blossoming into a young woman of society.

Constance’s story is intriguing and varied. She had her own income, she brought up her two small children almost single-handedly and was one of the most well-known faces and names among the celebrities of London in the late 1800s.

Mrs Oscar Wilde is a presentation of her life, told using excerpts of accounts in her own hand in letters to those she knew and loved, revealing a wit that was, well… Wildean, with a sense of dry humour dry and a sense of self that will have every audience member rooting for the tragic heroine from beginning to end.

Wilde about the boy: Oscar enjoyed acclaim

This one-woman show features award-winning actress and writer Wolfe, who received the nomination for Best Female Actor at the Buxton Fringe 2016 for her role in this play.

Tickets are just £10 for this one-off performance starting at 7.30pm in the studio theatre above the Spread Eagle pub on Croydon High Street.

* – there is no theatre curtain at the Spread Eagle: it’s a studio theatre.

• Also coming up at the Spread Eagle is regular stand-up nights, beginning on Thursday, September 28 with Ed Night and Paul McGarrity. Tickets are £8.

For details of Mrs Oscar Wilde or the comedy nights, or to book tickets, visit the Spread Eagle’s website here.

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