The Country Wife (1977)

A 17th century rake (Anthony Andrews) feigns impotence in order to seduce his friends' wives without suspicion from their husbands. However, a saucy country wench (Helen Mirren) married to a much older man (Bernard Cribbins), unfamiliar with London society's duplicitous ways, cuts through the pretenses when she falls in love with the rake. William Wycherley's bawdy restoration comedy was considered shocking enough to be kept off stages between 1760 and 1920 (that a 160 years!) and even today, it's still fairly raunchy. The "China" scene is still quite hilarious. The play gets a fairly lively production here though it takes a while to get its cadence flowing. Andrews as the main protagonist leaves a lot to be desired but Mirren is both sexy and impudent as the title character and underplays while most of the cast performs broadly. Directed by Donald McWhinnie. With Adrienne Corri, Ciaran Madden, Amanda Barrie, John Nettleton and Phil Daniels.