Emilie Hope
Dawn Cheong stars as Cecily | Photo by Lewis Ferris
One should always trust a Jonathan Price show. You will have a wonderful time. Guaranteed. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (a.k.a. the 19th century Shakespeare but funnier), under the brilliant directorship of Price has never made me want high tea more. This fantastic, lively, entertaining show for all ages is an absolute delight, bringing Wilde’s excellent text to life with Price’s physical direction and a talented cast and crew.
It is quite fitting that this modern staging has two gender-flipped characters, queering the romance between the two main love interest couples, considering the play’s debut. This was Wilde’s last play and the play in which his boyfriend’s father tried to throw a bouquet of rotten vegetables on stage on opening night, essentially outing Wilde publicly as gay. What follows is Wilde’s imprisonment and eventual exile to Paris where he died in 1900. Again, I am grateful to our queer elders and ancestors who have gone before us so that we are able to live in a nation (along with many others around the world) where queer marriage is legal and celebrated 123 years after Wilde’s death.
Ryan Carter stars as Gwendolen | Photo by Lewis Ferris
It is important also to note that this is not A Slightly Isolated Dog production, despite there being a few of the same members involved in this production such as Price, Andrew Paterson as John ‘Jack’ Worthing, and Susie Berry as the make-up consultant (great job, by the way). This production is produced by Nathan Mudge with production and stage managing by Anna Barker.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play about duplicity, escaping society ideals, and superficiality versus moral fibre. The full title of the play is The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, which should already give you a clue as to the farcical nature of the play. It’s argued to be Wilde’s best play; it’s certainly infinitely quotable and throwaway titbits become quite crucial to the drama of the play. The cast play up the hilarious pompous attitudes of the characters from this Victorian society yet remain entirely believable. The 128-year-old words fly out of their mouths as if it were the most natural thing in the world. We do still live in an Age of Ideals; what is portrayed publicly online is often a curated reality and the chasm between ideals and action can seem frustratingly large, such as striking for climate action, better pay, and to stop job cuts - when will the chasm close and ideals win and turn to action? Yet for two hours and ten minutes, I am rebelling against the modern Age of Ideals by escaping into Price’s Earnest and laughing at the ridiculousness that ensues.
Irene Wood stars as Lady Bracknell | Photo by Lewis Ferris
Circa One is transformed into a thrust/arena stage, with the seating block broken up into three circling the stage. The actors do a great job at playing to all sides so don’t worry about where is best to be seated. There is a pretty yet simple floor treatment where it is painted a soft green colour with some floral flourishes in the corners in an alternative green colour. There are three undrawn curtains hanging in the back of the stage which, when one and then the final two are opened, represent the change of location – London townhouse, country garden, and country house respectively. Meg Rollandi has really outdone herself with this production design, especially with the delightful costuming of mostly silks and velvets, showing the opulence of these characters. While the costume of Cecily Cardew (Dawn Cheong) perfectly exemplifies the character’s childishness and petulance (pink with a tutu-like skirt and long while pants), it did seem ill-fitting around the bodice and the different coloured silk roses adorned across it aren’t flatteringly placed. However, I do thoroughly enjoy Algernon Moncrieff’s (Isobel Mackinnon) rose velvet coat with well placed rose embroidery tying together these two characters’ romantic connection from the first scene. The costume for Gwendolen Fairfax (Ryan Carter) is also delectable in the sheer navy-blue shirt with puff collar and cuffs and a matching waist corset – mwah!
Singing interludes between the change of location show off the talents of Mackinnon, Anne Chamberlain, and Rebecca Parker. They are all given a respective moment in a literal spotlight, thanks to Isadora Lao’s lighting design and Esteban Jaramillo’s operation. To have all the actors mic’d up is most likely to account for these singing moments but also so that the audience can hear everyone on stage. Even so, I struggle to catch Lady Bracknell’s lines, and I wonder if this is because actor Irene Wood is unwell, recently recovered from sickness, has a naturally quiet and raspy voice, or her microphone is not calibrated enough for her. Regardless, I miss a few of Lady Bracknell’s punchier lines because I fail to hear her.
Isobel Mackinnon as Algernon | Photo by Lewis Ferris
While all the actors do an exceptional job (truly!), I’m giving special mention to Parker, who not only has a wonderful singing voice but manages to play the two servants – Lane and Merriman – so differently, I do a double take to realise it’s the same actor. Lane is cool, calm, slightly pessimistic while Merriam seems a nervous and silly flutter, eager to please. When Peter Hambleton bowls in as Reverend Chasuble, at first it seems he may be doing too much with his voice and face, but once this mellows, I cannot fault his comedic timing. He makes a great decision to make any words ending in ‘tion’ for his character to pronounce them as ‘she-on’, making the character even more ridiculous and hilarious.
If you are a little English literature nerd like me, or even think the Victorians were a bit snobbish, this is the perfect show for you. I haven’t seen a theatre laugh so often and loudly in a while and it is so refreshing. The physicality of the actors, their comedic nuance, and the vivacious energy they pour into the show is of the highest calibre. Certainly, a crowning jewel in Circa’s programming for 2023.
The Importance of Being Earnest is on at Circa Theatre until the 4th of November – don’t miss out!