Sir Robert is facing potential blackmail from Mrs. Cheveley, who holds a letter proving that years ago, Robert sold Cabinet secrets to gain funds to build his current fortune. Not only would a revelation ruin his political career, it would likely end his marriage to the morally inflexible Lady Chiltern – an enemy of Mrs. Cheveley's since school days – who believes her husband should be an irreproachable model of virtue and decorum. Rife with Oscar Wilde's skewering observations of high society, An Ideal Husband explores political corruption, public persona versus private virtue, and the inevitable disappointments that come with holding others to one's own rigid ideals. Jenny Hollingsworth directs.