ABSTRACT
Wilde’s plays are probably second in the British public’s affection only to Shakespeare’s - both the regularity of prestigious West End theatre productions and their great popularity in regional theatre as well as in the substantial world of amateur theatre attest to this fact. The story of the play - all the action of which is packed into 24 hours - is simple. It is the morning of Lady Windermere’s 21st birthday. She is at home arranging flowers, ready for the dance that she and her husband have arranged for the evening. One powerful theme is immediately placed before people in the Windermeres’ quarrel about whether Mrs Erlynne is to receive an invitation and thus be enabled to re-enter “good society”. Lady Plymdale seeks to manage her husband’s feelings by turning them away from herself, while Dumby appears a pliable fool.
