The Importance of Being Earnest
Mon, 12 July 2004, 09:13 pmWalter Plinge13 posts in thread
The Importance of Being Earnest
Mon, 12 July 2004, 09:13 pmThe 'Importants' of Being Earnest are that it wasn't all that important!!
Seriously though, we didn't go with the intention of pulling it to bits, suffice to say, elasticated mens boots weren't invented in those
days, nor were stiletto heels and black stockings and I'm not entirely sure that plastic ivy all over your garden was either, and one certainly didn't pretend to water ones plastic roses with pretend water from a tiny child's watering can. My partner tells me that at some point Cecily says she's going to water the roses, however, they look suspiciously
like azaleas.
Ernest looked uncannily like David Coulthard and as for Gwendoline, she appeared to be a little unsure of what accent she was supposed to be using as it seemed to vary from plum-in-the-mouth English to strange French!!
By the way, on the photo display out in the foyer, a certain K Wallace is listed as 'Gendoline' and the programme lists a character as 'Earnest Worthing J.P.' Surely that should be Ernest although perhaps they were being a little too Earnest.
Apart from all that, it wasn't too bad really and well worth the effort.
Seriously though, we didn't go with the intention of pulling it to bits, suffice to say, elasticated mens boots weren't invented in those
days, nor were stiletto heels and black stockings and I'm not entirely sure that plastic ivy all over your garden was either, and one certainly didn't pretend to water ones plastic roses with pretend water from a tiny child's watering can. My partner tells me that at some point Cecily says she's going to water the roses, however, they look suspiciously
like azaleas.
Ernest looked uncannily like David Coulthard and as for Gwendoline, she appeared to be a little unsure of what accent she was supposed to be using as it seemed to vary from plum-in-the-mouth English to strange French!!
By the way, on the photo display out in the foyer, a certain K Wallace is listed as 'Gendoline' and the programme lists a character as 'Earnest Worthing J.P.' Surely that should be Ernest although perhaps they were being a little too Earnest.
Apart from all that, it wasn't too bad really and well worth the effort.
Re: The Importance of Being Earnest
Sun, 18 July 2004, 12:14 pmWe had the pleasure of attending Marloo Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest last night, and were thoroughly entertained. Visually attractive with gorgeous costuming, millinery, and hairstyles, the play romped along, epigrams were delivered with relish by the cast, and it was really good to see that the cast were all of appropriate age and size for the parts.
As we would expect from Douglas Sutherland-Bruce, a man who respects and admires Oscar Wilde's writing, the direction was skilfully choreographed. Status characters had status positions, the two friends, Algernon and Earnest were obviously friends and were often blocked in unison, and the two new friends, Gwendolynne and Cecily moved together beautifully. It was great to see a play where the audience knew where the focus was, could sit back and watch the action without any distraction from other characters. Great discipline. It was also apparent that Douglas knew his play and was able to put his own interpretation on some of the best known lines in English speaking theatre and not slavishly follow the Dame Edith Evan's production.
This would be one of the better Oscar Wilde productions we have seen for quite a while. Yes, accents slipped from time to time, but the energy, and generosity of the actors was a credit to them.
Thank you Douglas, your cast and crew and to Les, Gwynne and Caroline, the F.O.H. gang for a lovely evening.
As we would expect from Douglas Sutherland-Bruce, a man who respects and admires Oscar Wilde's writing, the direction was skilfully choreographed. Status characters had status positions, the two friends, Algernon and Earnest were obviously friends and were often blocked in unison, and the two new friends, Gwendolynne and Cecily moved together beautifully. It was great to see a play where the audience knew where the focus was, could sit back and watch the action without any distraction from other characters. Great discipline. It was also apparent that Douglas knew his play and was able to put his own interpretation on some of the best known lines in English speaking theatre and not slavishly follow the Dame Edith Evan's production.
This would be one of the better Oscar Wilde productions we have seen for quite a while. Yes, accents slipped from time to time, but the energy, and generosity of the actors was a credit to them.
Thank you Douglas, your cast and crew and to Les, Gwynne and Caroline, the F.O.H. gang for a lovely evening.
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