UK Theatre Network

The Rose Theatre, undeservedly plagued by financial woes because it does not receive any arts council funding whatsoever, presents an excellent production of Wilde’s most popular play with a fantastic cast. Unwin sees The Importance of Being Earnest as a satire on the state of affairs: “The high propriety of Lady Bracknell in all things marital; the hypocrisy of Algernon and Jack; the indelicacy of Cecily and Gwendolen; the hidden secrets of Prism and Chasuble; the voracious appetites lurking beneath the genteel surface; and the never-ending inversion of the moral and the serious with the trivial and the pleasurable, are all designed to mock a particular set of Victorian mores.”  Unwin presents a fresh and new view of Wilde’s classic play. His comic timing and tempo are impeccable although I could not quite see the necessity for two intervals for this particular play. It rather slows things down. 

Quite often the young lovers seem interchangeable but in this production Algy (Bruce Mackinnon) is suave and urbane, a bit mischievous, whereas Jack (Daniel Brocklebank) is suitably nervous and indignant. Jane Asher plays a fairly young Lady Bracknell, quite different from the usually brazen character. Still authoritative her reaction to the handbag story is quite restrained, to great comic effect. Kirsty Besterman’s Gwendolen is charming and amiable yet already a younger version of her mother whilst Jenny Rainsford conveys the sweetness and shallowness of her character perfectly when she refuses to do her German lesson because it makes her look plain. Richard Corderey, who can also be seen in repertory with Jane Asher in Farewell to the Theatre, plays Rev. Canon Chasuble with gentle humour and affection when he carefully tiptoes towards a relationship with the delightful Miss Prism (Ishia Bennison). 

This is a production worth seeing so please make your way to the wonderful Rose Theatre in Kingston! 

Until 30^th October 2011
Rose Theatre - Kingston 2008. 24-26 High Street, Kingston, KT1 1HL

Box office: 08444 821556

The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people”, gets a seriously good revival in the final production to grace the Library Theatre stage.

In just over a century this pearl among plays has taken its place alongside the classics of the canon.  Wilde’s sparkling wit and idiosyncratic style reach their acme in a text which is now so universally familiar that, like Hamlet, every line seems to be a quotation.

Director Chris Honer has assembled a cast of familiar faces (including old favourite Leigh Symonds as a brace of butlers) alongside a new generation of acting talent.  Among his discoveries is floppy-haired fop Alex Felton, a long-limbed, lissom youth who seems to have been born to play the role of the incorrigible Algie.  Florence Hall’s Cecily is perfect as the Victorian type of unspoiled innocence, although Natalie Grady as the more worldly Gwendolen has the edge on them both when it comes to comic timing.

Simon Harrison brings humour and sweetness to the otherwise stolid Jack Worthing, and Olwen May’s very funny turn as dotty governess Miss Prism gives the character more than her usual share of charm.  However Malcolm James’s cameo as the inveterate celibate Rev Chasuble nearly steals the whole show, wringing a laugh from every line without ever overplaying.  In fact the whole production is an example of what can be achieved from truth and taste, something Wilde would have appreciated.

It may seem strange, but the best example of this self-imposed restraint is the director’s decision to have Lady Bracknell played in drag.  Russell Dixon’s solid bulldog build and uncompromising masculinity mean that even though he speaks in low and moderate tones his Lady Bracknell has an underlying authority.  Ironically this enables him to play her as a living, breathing woman, rather than as the shrill caricature which is often the character’s fate. 

Designer Judith Croft’s opulent sets consist of a wall of slats with a beautiful cut-out design and a well-matched assemblage of antique furniture,  And her mouth-watering costumes almost deserve their own billing: the Lady Bracknell tout ensemble plays a huge part in Russell Dixon’s transformation, while Alex Felton seems to have become Ms Croft’s fashion muse.  How else could she have dreamed up those divine crimson shot-silk breeches?  And who else could possible have carried them off with such aplomb?

There can’t be a theatre-goer in the region who doesn’t have a soft spot for Manchester’s lovely Library Theatre and who doesn’t regret the closure of the little auditorium buried in the Central Library’s basement.  However the Library Theatre Company itself lives on and will be performing at The Lowry for the next few seasons.  And at least The Importance if Being Earnest is a high-point for the company to take leave of its home of more than half a century.

The Importance of Being Earnest is on until Saturday 3 July 2010

Prices: £8.00-£18.00 (concessions available)

Eves: Mon-Thurs @ 7.30pm; Fri & Sat @ 8pm

Matinees: Thurs & Sat @ 3pm

Box Office: 0161 236 7110

www.librarytheatre.com