Those familiar with British cinema in the post-war years will recognise Miles Malleson as an actor in a variety of supporting roles. He famously played rag and bone man Old Joe in the definitive version of Scrooge starring Alastair Sim. But he was also a highly accomplished author who wrote 21 screenplays and over a dozen plays. The Mint Theatre Company has now brought one of Malleson’s plays to the London stage for the first time. Yours Unfaithfully was written in 1933 but this hidden gem has not previously enjoyed a proper showcase, and is difficult to understand why it’s taken so long to find its rightful place.
The setting is the calm countryside of Middle England. Anne Meredith (Laura Doddington) runs a successful school while her husband Stephen (Guy Lewis) is a writer going through a rough patch. He has a fractious relationship with his father Canon Gordon (Tony Timberlake), a pious man of the cloth with a love of cricket. The weekend beckons and friends come to stay; Dr Alan Kirby (Dominic Marsh) has a history with Anne that pre-dates Stephen and Diana Streatfield (Keisha Atwell) is recently widowed and looking for a new direction in life. It soon becomes apparent that Anne and Stephen have an open marriage, and Diana could be just the person who might reinvigorate Stephen’s outlook on life.
