COMPLETE[PLAY] The Country Wife by William Wycherley - thw

Solo or group recordings that are finished and fully available for listeners
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WiltedScribe
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Post by WiltedScribe »

The Country Wife by William Wycherley (1641 - 1716).
One of the most notorious Restoration comedies in existence, William Wycherley’s <i>The Country Wife</i> is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life in the seventeenth century, which was rife with unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. For the basis of his plot, Wycherley here borrows heavily from the work of Molière, but abandons the French master’s unity and economy by introducing several interlocking storylines and characters, all of them clamoring for attention amidst Wycherley’s hard-hitting colloquial dialogue and double entendres. The main plot follows the clever town rake Horner, who feigns impotence in order to seduce women of quality and cuckold their unwitting husbands. One woman who takes interest in him is Margery, a seemingly naive country girl married to the pathologically jealous Pinchwife. Her desire to pursue an illicit affair with Horner yields a multitude of complications and misunderstandings, many of which are left scandalously unresolved by the time the final line is spoken.<br><br>With startlingly frank explorations of gender dynamics, marital structures, female autonomy, misogyny, and seventeenth-century societal obligations, as well as an infamous “china scene” positively dripping with innuendo, <i>The Country Wife</i> remains a classic of its genre that continues to invite fresh and exciting interpretations with each new performance. ( Tomas Peter)
This project is complete. All audio files may be found in our catalog at https://librivox.org/the-country-wife-by-william-wycherley/


All roles are gender neutral. Please read the cast of characters in the next post for an idea of who is who.
  1. Is there a deadline?
    We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
  2. How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here
    To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
  3. New to recording?
    Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
  4. Where do I find the text? Source text (please only read from this text!): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55426
  5. Please claim roles (the numbers in the first column below)! Please note: All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. When you submit your recording, you will be placing your recording in the public domain as well.

    If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.

    Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

    Magic Window:



    BC Admin
    ===========================================
    This paragraph is temporary and will be replaced by the MC with the list of sections and reader (Magic Window) once this project is in the admin system.
    • Project Code: eM4ZFnRC
    • Link to author on Wikipedia (if available): (William Wycherley) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wycherley
    • Link to title on Wikipedia (if available): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_Wife
    • Number of sections (files) this project will have: 60
    • Does the project have an introduction or preface [y/n]: No
    • Original publication date (if known): 1675
      ============================================

      Genres for the project: Plays/Comedy; Plays/Comedy/Satire

      Keywords that describe the book: comedy, drama, London, marriage, seduction, social class, wit, hypocrisy, restoration, jealousy, rake, william wycherley, country wife, fop, double entendre, fidelity, sexual freedom, impotence

      ============================================
    • BEFORE recording: Please check the Recording Notes: viewtopic.php?p=6430#p6430

      Set your recording software to:
      Channels: 1 (Mono)
      Bit Rate: 128 kbps
      Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz

      Submit one file per act.
    • Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:
      [Role], read by [your name].

      If you are reading stage directions, please include for each file:

      At the beginning: Act [#] of The Country Wife by William Wycherley. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.

      At the end: End of Act [#].

      Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
    • AFTER recording
      Save files as 128 kbps MP3
      countrywife_[role]_[#]_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the act number.
      Example: countrywife_pinchwife_1_128kb

      Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
      • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader Image
        (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
      • You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is:toddhw
      • When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
      • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
      Any questions?
      Please post below
Last edited by WiltedScribe on March 16th, 2019, 1:04 pm, edited 7 times in total.
Tomas Peter
WiltedScribe
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Post by WiltedScribe »

Cast of characters:

HORNER: The rake who poses as a eunuch in order to cuckold the husbands of “women of quality.” He also pursues Margery to get a rise out of Pinchwife, which leads to unintended complications when Margery is led to believe that his love for her is sincere. --- Tomas Peter
PINCHWIFE: Margery’s husband and Alithea’s brother; he is a reformed rake who jealously controls Margery so that he is not cuckolded by rakes like Horner (as he doesn’t know that Horner is now a eunuch). --- Scotty Smith
MARGERY PINCHWIFE: The titular country wife, married to Pinchwife; she is naive and curious about the Town (but more than willing to learn about its licentiousness), and later falls in love with Horner—leading to a series of misunderstandings when she tries to conceal the affair from her husband. --- Availle
ALITHEA: Pinchwife’s sister and Sparkish’s fiancée; she falls in love with Harcourt, but will not court him because she wishes to be true to Sparkish. --- Leanne Yau
HARCOURT: A part of Horner’s retinue; he falls in love with Alithea and tries to thwart her marriage to Sparkish. Their relationship is the only one in the play to be built on values of true love and affection. --- Son of the Exiles
DORILANT: A part of Horner’s retinue, who tries to pursue Lucy. --- MajorToast
SPARKISH: Fiancé to Alithea and the play’s fop character; he fancies himself to be a great and fashionable wit, but his relative obliviousness to the deceitfulness around him makes him a pitiful and gullible fool. --- ToddHW
SIR JASPER FIDGET: A court official who allows Horner to keep his wife company due to the fact that he doesn’t find Horner to be a sexual threat. --- Nemo
LADY FIDGET / DAINTY FIDGET / MRS. SQUEAMISH: The “women of quality” who publicly abhor Horner as a threat to their honor and reputations, but who secretly give themselves up as sexual conquests because they are unsatisfied with their hypocritical and neglectful husbands. They end up being just as wild and rakish as Horner. --- Beth Thomas, Foon & Sonia
OLD LADY SQUEAMISH: Mrs. Squeamish's controlling grandmother, who is always trying to keep her granddaughter in check. --- Eva Davis
LUCY: Alithea’s maid who encourages her mistress to pursue Harcourt; at the end of the play, her quick thinking to preserve the deceit saves the characters from being exposed and maintains the overarching social order. --- TJ Burns
QUACK: A doctor who helps Horner spread the story of a sexually-transmitted disease stripping him of his fertility. He is an audience surrogate who voyeuristically bears witness to the repercussions of his actions. --- alanmapstone

Minor roles: A boy [Melanie Jensen] and a bookseller [Beth Thomas].
Last edited by WiltedScribe on March 16th, 2019, 1:03 pm, edited 10 times in total.
Tomas Peter
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Post by WiltedScribe »

Now that my other play, Adelgitha, is nearing its end, it's time to head up a new play, and this time it'll be a bawdy Restoration comedy. And when I mean bawdy, I truly mean bawdy. If you easily blush at such things, then this may not be for you. :P However, if you like to chew on double entendres and enjoy watching a tangled plot involving seduction, deceit, and mischievous behavior, then this will be your cup of tea. :mrgreen:

If I have one request, it's that everyone who volunteers to participate really ham it up when it comes to the innuendo. There's nothing subtle about any of this, nor should we try and make it subtle. If there's a line that has a clear double meaning, emphasize it as comically as you can. So much of this play (and any Restoration comedy) runs on the linguistic juiciness of the lines.

The one scene that must be played up to the heights is Act 4, Scene 3 (especially the first half), which has its own special reputation. I really must insist that anyone with lines in that scene hammer out those innuendos like there's no tomorrow. The few listeners who will go into this play knowing it inside and out will be waiting to hear how that scene is performed, so no pressure, but do your best.

I can take claims starting now, but I probably won't have the MW filled until much later in the day. I'm going to tentatively assume Sonia will be my DPL, so I won't advertise for one unless she declines. An editor is also welcome if someone wishes to volunteer. I'll probably do it if no one offers.
Tomas Peter
SonOfTheExiles
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Post by SonOfTheExiles »

"If I have one request, it's that everyone who volunteers to participate really ham it up when it comes to the innuendo."

A touch of Hullo folks, and what about the workers, huh? Got it. :mrgreen:

Ernie: "I loved the lady once."

Eric: "Once? And you told me you were a centurion! You're all talk, you are!"


Could you put me down for Harcourt please?


Cheers,
Chris
Currently on sabbatical from Librivox
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

WiltedScribe wrote: November 11th, 2018, 10:22 pmI'm going to tentatively assume Sonia will be my DPL, so I won't advertise for one unless she declines.
how could I decline such a vote of confidence ? All right, sign me up for it :)

And I think I also want to be a "lady of quality". Could I claim Mrs Squeamish, please ? I think I'll have a blast claiming more china :lol:

Thanks

Sonia
SonOfTheExiles
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Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by SonOfTheExiles »

A little factoid.

Helen Mirren played the role of Margery Pinchwife in the BBC production of this play in 1977.


Cheers,
Chris
Currently on sabbatical from Librivox
alanmapstone
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Post by alanmapstone »

Can I claim the role of Quack. Sounds like the sort of detached cynical character I can manage.
Alan
the sixth age shifts into the slippered pantaloon with spectacles on nose
Elizabby
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Post by Elizabby »

I want to be a "lady of quality" too! :mrgreen: I think I'd like to be Lady Fidget please.
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

Elizabby wrote: November 12th, 2018, 4:54 am I want to be a "lady of quality" too! :mrgreen: I think I'd like to be Lady Fidget please.
:lol: I see I am in good company. This will be fun.

Sonia
Foon
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Post by Foon »

Kitty wrote: November 12th, 2018, 12:13 am
WiltedScribe wrote: November 11th, 2018, 10:22 pmI'm going to tentatively assume Sonia will be my DPL, so I won't advertise for one unless she declines.
how could I decline such a vote of confidence ? All right, sign me up for it :)

And I think I also want to be a "lady of quality". Could I claim Lady Squeamish, please ? I think I'll have a blast claiming more china :lol:

Thanks

Sonia
Sonia, are you claiming Mrs. Squeamish, or Old Lady Squeamish?

If the latter, I'd like Mrs. Squeamish; if the former, may I claim Dainty Fidget?
Foon - Real life is getting in the way of LV, will be slow until all is back on track, please bear with me!


Readers needed:
Dramatic Reading: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Folklore/legends: Arabian Nights Vol. 11
Play: Zeus the Tragedian
Kitty
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Post by Kitty »

Foon wrote: November 12th, 2018, 5:11 am Sonia, are you claiming Mrs. Squeamish, or Old Lady Squeamish?
I wanted MRS Squeamish (the young, not the old) sorry for being imprecise. (the old one is definitely not into china ;) )

I noticed my error now and correct it in my previous post.

Sonia
leanneyauyau
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Post by leanneyauyau »

May I have Alithea :D
Leanne (leanneyauyau) :9:
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Availle
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Post by Availle »

Could I do MARGERY PINCHWIFE? I am a country bumpkin too... :lol:
Cheers, Ava.
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WiltedScribe
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Joined: April 7th, 2016, 8:11 pm

Post by WiltedScribe »

Wow, what a great thing to wake up and see the play nearly half-claimed, and without a MW yet no less. :9: I have noted everyone's claims in the cast of characters for now. Nearly all the female roles are gone, but as this is gender neutral, interested females are allowed to claim male characters if they wish.

Chris is also correct. Helen Mirren did play Margery in a TV film from the 1970s. A decent copy is available to watch on YouTube. A clip of the china scene is also there, in case any of you wanted a general sense of how the pros do it.
Tomas Peter
bluechien
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Post by bluechien »

Can I take Old Lady Squeamish?

The links to production and backstory stuff is great. Hardly ever available, that -- thanks Chris and Tomas!
Eva D
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If not, why then, this parting was well made.
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