The Importance of Being Earnest (The West End)
Directed by Adrian Noble
Vaudeville Theatre, London – 10 Jul 15
Think Downton Abbey with a generous helping of wit, hilarity and even a bit of drag, and you’ve got yourself the current West End production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Starring David Suchet as the domineering matriarch Lady Bracknell, this play is a terrific demonstration of the brilliance of English theatre. Overflowing with classic Wildean wit Earnest has more one-liners than a modern day comedian can dream of, whilst at the same time portraying a bygone world of feathered hats and cucumber sandwiches. The play is set in the Decadent period and follows the escapades of John ‘Jack’ Worthing (Michael Benz) and Algernon Moncrieff (Philip Cumbus), two friends who both pretend to be the disreputable Ernest … who is in fact non-existent. Kept simple with three acts and three scenes this is a play to satisfy all audiences, and only those lacking a rational sense of humour will fail to see the sparkle of this production.
The ultimate ideal night out at the theatre has got to be one of two options: the performance is of a quality that simply blows you away, or has you rolling around in hysterical laughter. If you go to see this play, you will experience both. Oscar Wilde’s style of playwriting is so recognisable, and like anything else in life, is not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but it cannot be denied that he knew how to tickle an audience. The characters in this production are almost ‘overplayed’, but rather than becoming a negative aspect it is more as if they are making a point and ridiculing their own characterisations. Cecily Cardew (Imogen Doel) is, for example, the naive young girl complete with breathy sighs and an over-romanticised view of life – so over-romanticised that she considers herself formally engaged to a man she has heard of but never actually met. Even the concept of ‘Englishness’ does not escape the clever mockery of this play. An altercation between Jack and Algernon in Act II turns into a full-blown argument over muffins, and an affronted stand-off between Cecily and the Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax (Emily Barber) cannot quite overcome the importance of afternoon tea.
The character of Lady Augusta Bracknell, a part that has previously been portrayed by the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith, is brought to life in a whole new way through David Suchet’s wonderful versatility as an actor. In a massive leap from the quiet genius of Hercule Poirot, Suchet’s Lady Bracknell could possible top even Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess of Grantham as the ultimate female vessel of upper-class power and arrogance. A character that you both love and despise, Lady Bracknell is unfortunately absent during Act II, but the quirks that Suchet brings to the portrayal will stay with you until well after the curtain calls have ended. Never has the simple act of opening a notebook raised such a reaction from an audience, but it is the small looks and gestures that make Suchet’s performance in Earnest so particularly superb.
It is difficult to beat truly classic English theatre, and Oscar Wilde’s plays definitely fall into this category. Aside from being rather ahead of his time with his use of epigrammatic wit and his views on society, Wilde also seems to pay tribute to one of his predecessors in classic theatrical work. With a plot full of mistaken identities, mixed lovers and a final scene that brings all of the characters together, Earnest could very well be a Shakespearean play. This may not be the most sophisticated of plotlines in the current theatrical world but nothing could be more fitting for a play so full of satiric wit and social commentary. On the whole, this production milks everything it can from Wilde’s virtuoso as a playwright and the result is, without a doubt, English theatre the way it ought to be.
NB: There will be a live cinema broadcast of this production on 8th October – I highly recommend that you get that in the diary!
All the World's a Stage 