This delightful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is an absolute treat!
Just over 130 years since the play first debuted at the St James’s Theatre in London, select cinemas across Australia are screening the play, filmed live at The National Theatre in London.
The story follows Jack Worthing, played by the effervescent Hugh Skinner, who assumes the identity of a guardian out in the country, and the life of a man named Earnest Worthing while in the city; effectively leading a double life. His friend and close confidant, Algernon (Algy) Moncrieff (the charming Ncuti Gatwa), finds out about the lie and follows suit, also using Earnest Worthing as an alias. The pseudonym soon gives both characters grief when they are caught up in a web of lies whilst trying to gain the affection of Gwendolen Fairfax – Algy’s cousin (Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́), and Cecily Cardew – Jak’s ward (Eliza Scanlen), whom they both hope to marry.
True to the symbolic nature of Wilde’s writing, whilst waiting for the show to start, patrons are faced with a peculiar black bag hanging from the ceiling in front of the red house curtain. For those already aware of the story, they know exactly what is to come from this black bag; and for those who don’t know, it’s nothing more than an interesting prop suspended from the ceiling that keeps audiences guessing.
But before the show even begins, the announcement telling patrons to switch off their phones ended with a polite threat (if you will) declaring that “…if they go off during the show, I will come and find you”, already giving patrons a taste of the hilarity to come from the show.
Relishing in the eloquent language of Wilde, Max Webster’s rendition of The Importance of Being Earnest is a fantastic iteration of the original play, as it engages in themes that would have been deemed inappropriate at the time of its initial introduction. The actors are able to play around with the original words and lean more into the underlying tones of queer desire in a time more accepting and suiting. Fittingly, the production opens up with Algy dancing a choreographed number in a sparkly hot pink dress, and ends with all the actors dressed in glittery, extravagant, non-gender conforming costumes. Additionally, innuendos of same sex attraction and explorations of sexuality are sprinkled throughout the production, truly demonstrating that Wilde’s play was far ahead of its time and prevalent in society today.
The humour in the production also goes far beyond the physical comedy of the characters. The inclusion of modern music like “Marry You” by Bruno Mars, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, and “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt, as well as other references to the modern age is a thrilling shock to the system, serving as an entertaining way to spell out some of the sequences for modernised context. Characters also break the fourth wall and reference the audience, bringing them right into the story; Jack Worthing addressing the scene change adding even more to the pantomime mood of the production.
The rest of the cast are incredible, from the gauche and farcical coupling of Richard Cant’s Reverend Canon Chasuble and Amanda Lawrence’s Miss Prism, and Sharon D Clarke’s portrayal of a privileged upper class Victorian socialite, Lady Bracknell. Everyone prove so fiercely present that there is not one moment throughout the play that felt dull or tedious.
The beautiful sets also left nothing to the imagination. Rae Smith’s detail allows audiences to feel a part of the late Victorian era, and the vivid and colourful nature opened up the world for the actors on stage and the audience watching.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
National Theatre Live: The Importance of Being Earnest is screening in select Australian theatres from March 27th, 2025.
