BWW Reviews: IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY, St James Theatre, November 21 2013

In the late nineteenth century, the electric lightbulb was a miracle, giving man the power the Book of Genesis ascribes to God. Its inventor, Thomas Edison, was hailed as a genius and he was soon gathering disciples with stunts like electrocuting an elephant - and some of those disciples were also enthusiasts for another man with a genuis for self-publicity, Sigmund Freud. Sure enough, electricity was soon touted as a cure for hysteria, which, as its name suggests, was seen as located in the uterus. How to get electricity to the uterus to promote the release of its "fluids" (and the corresponding emotional release) was the problem. The solution was, well, it's not called The Vibrator Play for nothing.

Designer Simon Kenny has created a beautiful split-level set comprising a New England drawing room and upstairs surgery ("The Next Room" of the title). While this gives director Laurence Boswell free rein to stoke up the sexual tension downstairs and release it upstairs, so sumptuous are the fixtures, fittings and costumes that the actors might be drowned in such splendour - fortunately they are not.

Dr Givings is a scientist and has more than a touch of Wackford Squeers about his ability to analyse everything into compartments, never seeing the big picture. Eventually, he just about sees that his wife, Catherine (Natalie Casey) is a slightly eccentric free spirit who needs more than his cold view of the world. The marital crisis is provoked by the arrival of Leo Irving (Edward Bennett) - an artist, and the polar opposite of the doctor in all but his good looks. Meanwhile Mrs Daldry (Flora Montgomery) is finding that her "hysteria" is responding rather well to the electric treatment and that she is enjoying the company of her husband (Owen Oakesott) a little more - but not quite as much as she enjoys her Greek lessons from Nurse Annie (Sarah Woodward). Into this mix, Elizabeth (Madeline Appiah) arrives as Catherine's baby's wet nurse, soon becoming Leo's model and muse and, later, the married women's teacher.

Sarah Ruhl's play is clever, funny and, in its portrayal of the innocence of even married middle-class women, poignant. Did they really know so little of the pleasures of sex? I suppose many, if not all, did see conjugal rights as a duty to be discharged - hence the popularity of vibrators as a household accessory. If some of the early laughs are cheapish - we all know what's happening upstairs as the electric charge flows except an increasingly happy Mrs Daldry - the later humour is bittersweet and very sharply observed.

The acting is superb, with Mr Bennett delivering a tremendously over the top turn as the oversexed artist and Ms Montgomery willowy and increasingly sexy as (shall we say) the flush returns to her cheeks. Ms Appiah is wonderful as the shy, but sharp witted, wet nurse who knows so much more about life than the wealthy women for whom she labours. Best of all, Ms Casey is utterly charming as the wife trapped in a match with an unsuitable husband with self-esteem plummeting as her baby becomes (literally) attached to her nurse, but who discovers her real nature and, ultimately, wins.

Despite its eye-catchingly forthright title, this play is a sophisticated comedy that makes its points with subtlety and grace. You can see why it was nominated for three Tony awards and a Pulitzer. There's plenty of well-deserved buzz to go with the buzzing.

In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play continues at St James Theatre until 4 January.

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