LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN

Oscar Wilde’s play gets a marvelous revival in this full-cast BBC production. The script is only lightly abridged and edited, so it retains all of the original wit while clarifying references that might be lost on contemporary listeners. Eleanor Tremain, in the role of Lady Windermere, has an irresistibly attractive voice that captures the naïveté and youthful beauty of the character. Much of the humor, meanwhile, is delivered by the peripheral characters, such as the oblivious Lord Augustus and the smarmy Dunby, both of whom are portrayed by voices that get their idiosyncrasies just right. While it may be hard to relate to the social scene of this century-old play, this production shows why Wilde remains so popular. D.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]