The Wife of Willesden (2023)

The Wife of Willesden is being staged at BAM Strong in collaboration with American Repertory Theater. It runs just an hour and forty minutes but it feels very long. That's because the prologue runs about an hour itself. And the prologue is almost straight monologue masquerading as open mic. Clare Perkins plays the titular wife with gusto but she can only do so much with what amounts to a rather boring play. It's all very one-note. I fell asleep in the second act. And I think it's not as shocking as it intends to be. It's 2023 after all. It's very frank. And it chastises the audience for slut shaming but who's saying anything? The best part is the sumptuous set, an upscale North London pub spanning the length of the entire stage and even spilling over to the audience who sits at tables, joining the action. I'm not entirely sure why Zadie Smith puts herself in the play. It creates a meta storytelling device, but it's unnecessary and there's a weird apology from Smith over her ability.