The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde is the master of the comic line and the memorable phrase and there are many of these delights in The Importance of Being Earnest.

In St Jude’s Players’ production, many of the most well-known lines are delivered by Lady Bracknell, a formidable character played beautifully by Andrew Clark. His performance is the standout in this well-balanced cast. The decision to cast a male in this role was an excellent one and Fran Hardie’s beautiful costumes assist Clark in delivering not only a believable but also an alarming and impressive Lady Bracknell.

The balance of the cast is important in ensuring a strong production as each Jack or Earnest must find their Jill or Gwendolen. There are many “duets” during the play and each pair of characters is well matched.

Miss Prism is played well by Lesley Reed and her performance is complemented by David Lockwood’s Reverend Chasuble.

The two men about town, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, are respectively played by Matthew Chapman and Robert Bell, both strong performers who manage to convey that sense of alliance and competition that good friends have. Bell is particularly good and I look forward to seeing him again in School for Scandal.

The scene where Gwendolen (Vanessa Redmond) and Cecily Cardew (Brittany Daw) meet for the first time is very funny, partially because the concept that the girls would form an alliance against the young men and consider themselves as being like sisters, had been set up so well by their suitors.

Andy Winwood, who plays both butlers, produces two believably different characters; Lane is a straight-faced misery and Merriman is as his name describes.

The scene changes are done in the spirit of the play and received a round of applause from the audience on opening night. However, the set itself is disappointing, being a bit insipid. The garden scene in particular doesn't work as there is a stylistic clash between the lattice and picture. My advice would be to discard the picture and keep only the lattice with the roses. The Aubrey border decoration is appropriate but the set could have had a richer, deeper colour more in keeping with the time.

The direction seems to have been concentrated on the diction and delivery of the lines rather than the physicality of the characters, however there is a good pace to the production.

All in all, this is an enjoyable evening at the theatre with lots to recommend it.

Sally Putnam

Note: Lesley Reed is a reviewer for Stage Whispers