Country Wife

When the notorious rake Horner discovers that impotence is the perfect cover for adultery, he turns Restoration London into a hunting ground in this scandalous comedy that shocked audiences for generations. The scheme is elegant in its depravity: by publicly claiming he can no longer perform, Horner becomes the one man husbands trust around their wives, when in fact he's bedded half the city. Into this den of wolves comes Margery, the eponymous country wife, married to the obsessive Pinchwife who keeps her locked away from the world. Her innocent curiosity about London society becomes something far more dangerous when she meets Horner, and what follows is a wickedly funny expose of the lies that underpin "respectable" marriage and the unbearable hypocrisy of a society that preaches propriety while indulging in every conceivable vice. Wycherley's genius lies in his understanding that sexuality, especially forbidden sexuality, is the engine that drives everything in polite society: money, power, reputation, and vanity all bend before desire. The play remains indispensable because it strips away the pretty lies we tell ourselves about love, jealousy, and fidelity, revealing the animal appetites beneath the powder and patches.