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Wilde fancy for reality and illusion
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST
Regent’s Park Theatre
EVEN as he dashed it off in three weeks in 1895, Wilde, who loved to extol his own genius, probably had every belief that The Importance of Being Earnest would still be playing on London stages over a century later.
On the other hand, he might not have guessed that this “delicate bubble of fancy”, as he called it, would find itself so prophetic of contemporary obsessions with reality and illusion.
In director Irina Brown’s brilliant production, Wilde’s masterpiece is not just a mordant satire on Victorian notions of importance and earnestness, but also shows real insight into the role of fantasy to escape the confines of our lives.
The plot sees Jack and Algernon, two wealthy, raffish ne’er-do-wells, straining under the yoke of Victorian propriety and convention.
Jack invents an imaginary brother called Ernest to allow him to balance a respectable life in the country with another scandalous one in town, while Algernon “visits” his made-up invalid friend Bunbury to dodge awkward dinner engagements with his aunt, the forbidding Lady Bracknell.
But Algernon can’t resist stirring up trouble for Jack, and impersonates Ernest himself.
Best laid plans soon unravel when both men fall in love, as Ernest, with women who profess an undying attachment to the name.
Given the challenge of the large outdoor space and limited set, less capable hands might reduce this high farce to a bumbling pantomime.
But director Irina Brown and her cast strike gold from start to finish, finding a perfect balance between broad comedy and precise characterisation.
The acting is uniformly commanding, energetic and charismatic. Although it would be unfair to show any bias, Susan Wooldridge stands out as Lady Bracknell for her brilliant handling of Wilde’s rich language. In every aspect the production shows a wit and panache worthy of Wilde himself, from the balletic slow-motion scene changes to Jack’s use of a doll’s house to imprison his mischievous ward Cecily.
Brown and her team have risen to the challenge of this magnificent outdoor theatre, and offer London one of its funniest, most enchanting evenings out.
Until July 25
0844 826 4242 |
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