Kara Tointon to star in The Constant Wife
- Paul Genty
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Get ready to say "I do" to an elegant evening of style and scandal as actress Kara Tointon - best known for playing Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion in London’s West End - stars in The Constant Wife at Blackpool Grand on January 16-17.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Somerset Maugham’s sparkling comedy of ill manners - adapted by Home, I'm Darling writer Laura Wade and directed by RSC co-director (and former Theatr Clwyd artistic director) Tamara Harvey is in Blackpool for a two-night preview before longer tour stops at other UK venues (see below) before opening in the West End.
Kara Tointon - who will be a leading character in the new Hunger Games movie later this year - is not only a celebrated TV and stage actress, but also danced to victory on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, lifting the glitterball with partner Artem Chigvintsev.
“It’s been a funny old year, but The Constant Wife is the breath of fresh air we all need,” says Kara Tointon.
"For a lot of us, 2025 was a bit strange: this is funny, and I think it’s going to be real light relief - both for those watching and for those of us in it.”
The tour begins in Blackpool, which is a favourite place for the actress: “Blackpool has a very heavy, warm place in my heart because of Strictly,” she says. “When you enter the Tower ballroom, it’s breathtaking, the architecture and the atmosphere. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
She doesn't hold back on excitement as she takes on Constance, the razor-sharp heroine of Somerset Maugham’s 100-year-old comedy.
“Constance is the best role I’ve ever had,” she says. “Laura Wade’s adaptation is something special; the words just spring off the page. For a 100-year-old play, it is very funny, it feels current. Honestly, it could have been written right now. You just fall in love with these people. Constance becomes this accidental powerhouse; all her underlying brilliance suddenly rises to the surface and she becomes the engine of every scene. That’s a lot of fun.”
Some fun was clearly what Kara needed after revealing last May that she had voluntarily undergone a double mastectomy. Kara inherited the same genes that resulted in her mother's fatal ovarian cancer in 2018, and which put Kara at significant risk.
"What surprised me most was how much hearing other people’s stories helped. When I was going through it, that comforted me in a way I can’t explain. We’re so lucky now to understand more about our own genetics and health. Kara is now an ambassador for the gynaecological cancer charity the Eve Appeal.
The forthcoming tour opens in Blackpool but is then a constant buzz of flitting around the country - a different energy every night. “It's a great way to start the year,” she beams. “I’ve been to many of the places before and I’m just so excited to take this show on the road.”
One unusual stop on the tour is Cunard’s Queen Mary II" the show will be performed on board as the ship crosses the Atlantic in May. “I’m so excited,” she grins. “I’ve heard of so many people seeing brilliant theatre on cruises. It’s a great idea for us, too.”
The Constant Wife is moving and funny at the same time, she says: “You leave thinking about what you would do in her situation. And it reminds us we can take time, reflect and make the right decisions."
Other venues in our region include: York Theatre Royal (January 26-31); Liverpool Playhouse (March 10-14); Lowry, Salford (March 16-21); Leeds Grand (April 13-18).