REVIEW: A Woman Killed With Kindness

Broadcast: British Home Service – 25^th February, 1959 at 20.00

Repeated: Under the title ‘National Theatre of the Air’ by the BBC Home Service on 20^th August, 1961 at 20.30, and as ‘The Sunday Play’ by The BBC Home Service on 3^rd April, 1966 at 14.30

Character: Master Wendoll

At the time of broadcast, the BBC had been presenting a series of revived plays by Mr. Raymond Raikes (British theatre producer, director and broadcaster) who appears determined to enlighten theatre-goers about what they have been missing.

‘A Woman Killed with Kindness’ is a domestic tragedy that illustrates the significant sophistication developed in English society since the era that began with ‘Arden of Faversham.’ This examination of manners and attitudes in 1603 highlights the final act of social upheaval that shaped the rural society we recognize today.

The Mountford’s stand as the sole aristocratic survivors, and while they engage in a delaying action, the Frankford’s, with their newfound wealth, advance with the tide of social change. New ideas regarding social morality emerge, and there is a contemporary aspect to Mr. Frankford’s (Norman Woodland) treatment of his unfaithful wife. Anne (Marjory Westbury), who embodies an almost innocent hedonism, and her relationship with Master Wendell (Peter WYngarde), while still rooted in the tradition of courtly love, is emotionally acceptable by today’s standards.

Wendoll resembles more of a correspondent than a rogue or a medieval vice. Although Frankford has the opportunity, he rejects violence as a means of addressing the wrongs inflicted upon him, opting instead for a more severe punishment by banishing his wife. She is remorseful and begins to starve herself, yet Frankford, adhering to his principles, forgives her on her deathbed.

This act of forgiveness provides the play with a tidy climax, which, it must be acknowledged, could verge on banality in the hands of less distinguished actors. A less skillful interpretation of Heywood’s couplets might have rendered the play akin to a poor pantomime, but Mr. Raikes ensured that the end rhymes were sometimes cleverly concealed and at other times deliberately emphasized to unveil a witty conceit.