An Ideal Husband
Manchester Royal Exchange: 11 December 07 - 26 January 2008
Jo plays Mrs Cheveley in An Ideal Husband
The Guardian - The most deadly viper is the venomous Mrs Cheveley, who attempts to poison the bond of trust between Chiltern and his naively adoring wife. Joanna Riding gives us Iago in Victorian couture: a woman whose chief pleasure is destroying the contentment of others.
The Stage - Award winning Joanna Riding steals the play as the mysterious Mrs Cheveley. She delivers her lines with a deftness of touch and a charming smile, whilst sweeping about in the only colourful costumes allowed in the initial monochromatic design.
The telegrah - Joanna Riding a smiling, devilish delight as Mrs Cheveley
Manchester evening news - Joanna has already won two Olivier awards for best actresss in a musical. Now she deserves another for her performance in this straight play. She becomes a charismatic and cunning bundle of dynamite when she blackmails Sir Robert into supporting in Parliament a canal scheme which he disagrees with.
Whatsonstage Manchester - The arrival of scarlet woman Mrs Cheveley (played with a wicked and malevolent wit by the excellent Joanna Riding) tears a rock solid couple’s lives in two
the Times - The evening’s main success is Riding, who relies less on her red wig and gorgeous Viennese dresses than on an assured manner, a svelte voice, an incongruously sweet smile and (not least) her flexible chin. It relaxes, it straightens, it hardens, it exudes malice, it threatens. It’s the most eloquent chin I can recall seeing.
British theatre Guide - West End musicals star Joanna Riding gives just the right touch of acid to Mrs Cheveley, delivering her orders with a confident, self-satisfied smile.
