The Importance of being Earnest

Sat, 29 Aug 2009, 06:45 pm

‘The Importance of being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde, is being performed by the Class Act theatre Inc. group at Subiaco arts Centre in Hammersley Road, Subiaco. Last performance at 8.00 pm on Saturday 29^th August.

Whenever the somewhat nervous and insecure Jack Worthing (Dan Luxton) announces that he is going to see his imaginary brother Ernest, he is in fact he going to visit the ravishing Gwendolyn (Rhoda Lopez). One day, the aristocratic, arrogant, lecherous and bullying Algy (Ben Russell) who also has trips away - to see Bunbury, another fictitious friend in the country – is awaiting a visit from his aunt, Lady Bracknell (Craig Williams).

Jack, who is known in London as Ernest, gives his true love Gwendolyn his country address, that she may visit him. However, he is overheard by Algy who also notes the address, and decides to pay a ‘surprise’ visit. Here Algy meet’s Jack’s ward of court, Cecily Cardew (Whitney Richards). Cecily is looked after by a frumpy old maid, dressed in tweeds - her guardian, Miss Prism (Angelique Malcolm) who is truly a strict and miserable old bird, that is until she sees the Rev. Dr Chasuble (Stephen Lee), the elderly local minister whom she drools over like a teenager.

To their horror, all the friends and relatives meet together and massive complications develop. The question is who, if anyone, will get to marry whom?

If I had a dollar for every person who has commented ‘Oh not Earnest again!’ I would be a rich man. So, to be truthful I was semi reluctant to go and see this play yet again. I dragged myself along and thank goodness, I did, as this was easily the best of the dozens that I have seen. Besides the fabulous costumes (tour manager Glynis Best), the script was delivered with perfect pace and timing. The last time I saw Lady Bracknell played in drag was by professional comedians, Hinge and Brackett about 15 years ago. They were funny, but this band of jesters had the audience laughing aloud for the whole two and a half hours.

Craig was superb as Bracknell; in the style of Alastair Sim, he was hilarious as the threatening and gruesome Aunt. It was so surprising to see such talented Shakespearean actors, as Dan Luxton and Angelique Malcolm, being so truly gifted in comedy. Dan and Ben Russell (who has had an amazing year) performed a brief soft shoe shuffle, which was a delight.

Rhoda Lopez, renowned for her beautiful singing voice, was most at home with her aristocratic accent and hilarious part. Whitney who was superb as Hamlet’s Ophelia, here went through a 180 degrees to give another brilliant performance as the naïve and stubborn Cecily.

Even though it is more than 50 years since Dame Edith Evans uttered ‘a handbag’, audiences wait for the line in anticipation, and invariably are disappointed. In this production, Lady Bracknell, with a sour face, held the audience for what seemed minutes as she fiddled with her accoutrements in total silence, and then delivered the line most successfully with a quietly dismissive gasp of ‘a handbag!’.

One of the funniest classic shows I have seen in years, with a magnificent cast, that worked fabulously as a team. See it twice! Worthy of an Oscar.

Pride and Prejudice

Mon, 31 Aug 2009, 11:35 pm

crgwllms

Hi Nathan I DON'T think bad reviews are embarrassing. They're thought provoking. And when my thoughts are provoked, I want to discuss it. Opinions are always valid, always subjective, and always interesting. But also only as significant as we choose to let them be. One individual opinion must always be taken with a grain of salt...and I don't trust gushing reviews either. (Hence my somewhat cavalier attitude to the good write ups we got here as well.) The collective opinion of a larger group of people, like an audience response on the night, is always easier to trust, but that is a fleeting thing and differs from night to night...which is why we come back night after night, play after play, to test the relationship again, and you ought never to rest on your laurels. If I WERE insecure, I imagine I would have shut up after your admonition above for fear of offending you further. And if I challenge, I only challenge you to be clear and specific. I take no offense at opinions but I challenge them to be carefully considered. You are within your rights to not have enjoyed Hamlet. It was by no means perfect and I wonder if some of those diabolical decisions you recognize are the same as the ones I would single out myself? Hard to tell, as you don't specify, but I'd agree with your conclusions of some inaudibility and imperfect interpretations. A pity that pithy comments on a website might prejudice you against a show you have not even seen to judge for yourself, but it really makes no matter. The show's over, you can imagine it were as good or as bad as you wish. I also agree with some of cernunnon's comments, or at least respect his right to think of the shows as he pleases. But I found it too funny that his major complaint was that in a comedy, we were playing too much for laughs..! This might have been 'diabolical' if we WEREN'T getting those laughs....but as cernunnon admits that most of the audience WERE laughing...surely that's not a grave objection! Like I said on another thread, it all comes down to interpretation, and our interpretation may simply be the one that has cheap laughs all the way through it! That obviously didn't appeal to him, and he's allowed to feel that way. In fact, I likened him to Wilde himself, in his contrariness, hence my juxtaposition of those quotes Wilde made on the subject of art. Read my response again. I am genuinely happy to be provoking entirely opposing responses, I am perfectly comfortable with having a laugh at anyone and everyone including myself and now you, and I repeat how I finished my previous response...that none of it is worth taking all that seriously! Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------

Thread (44 posts)

Threaded Flat

The Importance of being Earnest— Gordon the Optom29 Aug 2009

A Wilde review— crgwllms30 Aug 2009
soft shoe— Gordon the Optom30 Aug 2009
Disappointing— cernunnon30 Aug 2009
- "Everything popular is wrong." - (Oscar Wilde)— crgwllms30 Aug 2009
a series of cheap gags— dan luxton30 Aug 2009
- It might be important to— Walter Plinge31 Aug 2009
  - Bad reviews— Walter Plinge31 Aug 2009
    - Pride and Prejudice— crgwllms31 Aug 2009
The worst thing that ever— Garreth30 Aug 2009
Full cream— Freddie Badgery31 Aug 2009
Dan, I didn't write a— cernunnon31 Aug 2009
Why does Mr Williams always— Walter Plinge1 Sept 2009
- I've been distinctly diliked !— crgwllms1 Sept 2009
I'm confused...— jmuzz1 Sept 2009
I personally think there is— grantwatson1 Sept 2009
an artist publicly responding — stinger1 Sept 2009
Mr Williams the very fact— Walter Plinge2 Sept 2009
- I do but jest, poison in jest, no offence i' the world.— crgwllms2 Sept 2009
- Who's that?— Grant Malcolm2 Sept 2009
Delicious— Walter Plinge2 Sept 2009
- Rocking the boat— Ray Condy2 Sept 2009
That's hilarious— jeffhansen2 Sept 2009
Personally I think that— Targuus Taargus2 Sept 2009
Mr Williams, I am so— Walter Plinge3 Sept 2009
- Hopeless— Gaytirade3 Sept 2009
Mr Williams, please before— Walter Plinge3 Sept 2009
- Grand Slam rally, but no one stayed.— crgwllms3 Sept 2009
- (whats torting? I like the— grantwatson3 Sept 2009
Improvisation— Targuus Taargus3 Sept 2009
Torting— Targuus Taargus3 Sept 2009
- Torts and Retorts— stinger4 Sept 2009
  - Ooooh Stinger your Techie— JoeMc5 Sept 2009
No offence intended...please take this as constructive criticism— Walter Plinge3 Sept 2009
- Constructively criticising the construction.— crgwllms4 Sept 2009
  - Fair Call Re Costumes— Walter Plinge4 Sept 2009
dear cernunnon— dan luxton3 Sept 2009
- Nom-de-plume— cernunnon3 Sept 2009
My concern.— Walter Plinge3 Sept 2009
- The concernancy, sir?— crgwllms4 Sept 2009
- fair enough— dan luxton4 Sept 2009
Mr Williams, so did you get— Walter Plinge4 Sept 2009
- (reply)— crgwllms5 Sept 2009
Ah it got moderated— Walter Plinge4 Sept 2009

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