10 – 20 June

‘I love London Society! It is entirely composed now of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics.’

Present day. London.

Sir Robert Chiltern is riding high on all the very best that modern life has to offer a man of his impeccable taste and pristine reputation. He’s got it all: the house, the wife, the style.

All seems well until the arrival of the crafty Mrs Cheveley, who has a taste for drama and secrets to spill. Her revelations threaten disgrace, betrayal and public embarrassment: so how far will this perfect gentleman go to prevent his downfall?

Scandal is trending. Forgiveness is optional. And perfection comes at a price. 

This season, Oscar Wilde’s classic gets a bold new twist, directed by Lyric Hammersmith’s Associate Director Nicholai La Barrie (God of Carnage, Lyric Hammersmith; Romeo and Juliet, Manchester Royal Exchange).

Nicholai La Barrie, Director of An Ideal Husband says “

At its heart, An Ideal Husband is a play about lying…

Oscar Wilde poses a deceptively simple question: if we lie to the people we love, can we be forgiven and should we be? Sir Robert Chiltern spends the play running from his past, while Mrs Cheveley arrives determined to expose it.

In a world built on image and performance, it is perhaps the most seemingly frivolous man in London who proves to be the most honest.

This 2026 reimagining places Wilde’s classic firmly in our present moment. Set within today’s political landscape, this production embraces a heightened, meta-theatrical world that is bold, self-aware, and unapologetically opulent. With an all-Black cast, we explore questions of power, respectability, and public image through a lens that feels both urgent and necessary.”

Venue :  Theatre

Running time:  2hrs 35mins (incl. interval)

Photography credit: Helen Murray

This listing appears on our front page until 11:55pm on Saturday June 20th, 2026