Samantha Bond, best known as Miss Moneypenny in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond movies will star in An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Interestingly, she will be performing alongside her real-life husband, Alexander Hanson. With a stellar cast, An Ideal Husband tickets are among the hottest tickets in London this year.

Samantha Bond in An Ideal Husband
 

Samantha Bond will play Mrs Cheveley in Oscar Wilde’s classic An Ideal Husband while Sir Robert will be played by Alexander Hanson. Hanson’s last production was A Little Night Music on Broadway which transferred from London’s Garrick Theatre.

Oscar Wilde’s brilliant An Ideal Husband is a story of blackmail, morality, and political corruption. Characterized by biting wit and sparkling humour, the play is also a tender portrait of a marriage.
“Sooner or later, we shall all have to pay for what we do...No one should be entirely judged by their past." Oscar Wilde

Rachael Stirling plays Sir Robert's loving wife. This is another James Bond link as Stirling’s mother is none other than Dame Diana Rigg, famously the one character James Bond has ever married (in the classic Her Majesty’s Secret Service)  Rachael Stirling has recently appeared in The Priory at The Royal Court Theatre and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston.

Samantha Bond is certainly no stranger to the West End stage.  She has previously performed in Donkey's Years, Arcadia at the Duke Of York's Theatre and another Oscar Wilde classic A Woman Of No Importance at the Haymarket.  Interestingly, The Haymarket's 2003 production of A Woman Of No Importance also featured cast members Samantha Bond and Rachael Stirling, and even featured Caroline Blakiston, another cast member of An Ideal Husband. So this cast certainly knows how to keep it in the family!

Recently interviewed, Samantha Bond said, “The play has enormous current resonance.  Although much of it is very funny indeed, it scrutinizes a political marriage - and questions political honesty, integrity and morality.  When a beautifully written and constructed classic still hits home with such truth, it is always relevant.  What's astonishing is how little in the political arena has changed!”  Talking about her character in An Ideal Husband, Mrs Chevely, she joked, “I've done a lot of crying in my career - on stage!  And it is very exciting to approach a woman so in command, so eloquent and, frankly, so bad!  I've never played a part remotely like her - and that prospect is thrilling!”

When asked why anyone should buy An Ideal Husband play tickets, Samantha Bond’s answer was simple, “It is quite simply, a fabulous play!”

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