The Second Mrs Tanqueray (From Wandsworth Guardian)
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Review: The Second Mrs Tanqueray - Rose Theatre, Kingston
8:10am Tuesday 9th October 2012 in Freetime By Nazia Dewji, Reporter
Laura Michelle Kelly plays the leading lady in The Second Mrs Tanqueray at the Rose Theatre, Kingston
The latest revival of Arthur W Pinero’s The Second Mrs Tanqueray is a play that revolves around Victorian era sex – or the consequences of it even.
When middle-aged Aubrey Tanqueray falls in love and marries the young, beautiful and captivating Paula, he doesn’t expect the baggage that seems to come with his been-around-the-block second wife.
As soon as Paula, played by Laura Michelle Kelly, enters, the audience is taken by her.
Her impatient, petty and amusingly catty nature is an instant hit, particularly when she is dealing with her stiff and innocent step-daughter, the convent educated Ellean who is adored by her father.
Full of wit, Kelly shines as a jealous "woman with a past" whose sexual misdemeanours manage to catch up with her when a former lover and army man enters her marriage-set-up as a suitor for Ellean.
A bit slow to start with, The Second Mrs Tanqueray is a good production which gradually gives audiences an insight into what could go wrong in a marriage.
The Second Mrs Tanqueray, The Rose, 24-26 High Street, Kingston, until October 27, 7.30pm and Saturday 2.30pm matinee, £12- £32, call box office on 08444 821 556, visit rosetheatrekingston.org.
