The Importance of Being Earnest at the Oxford Playhouse Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Joanna Woodburn
Celebrating an incredible 70 years of performing at the Oxford Playhouse, Oxford Theatre Guild, Oxfordshire’s leading theatre company for non-professional actors is now performing Oscar Wilde’s iconic play, The Importance of Being Earnest for the very first time. Lying in the heart of the city, the Playhouse offers comfortable, modern seating, friendly service, with audiences guaranteed a great view from anywhere in the auditorium.
It is hard to believe The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed to high acclaim almost 140 years ago and having stood the test of time, it remains just as well-known and well-loved as when it first took to the stage. Directed by Tim Eyres, Oxford Theatre Guild’s production is as fine as any professional performance you are likely to see, the acting is of the highest calibre throughout the performance.
This classic play brilliantly updates the comedy action to the roaring 1920s, where the young strive for a new found freedom and frivolity and are determined to escape the strait-laced attitudes of the previous Edwardian era. By setting the play in the 1920s, OTG have said that they hope to ‘add a tone that is lighter and more stylish than the original late Victorian setting, while emphasising that the play’s themes are relevant to all ages’ and in doing so they have certainly struck a chord and added some extra oomph and energy – the performance is a brilliant and effective twist on the original concept.
The OTG’s production has all the hallmarks of Oscar Wilde’s high society – an elaborate and incredibly clever plot, with much ridicule of snooty Victorian sensibilities such as the formalities of afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches. Considered to be Wilde’s greatest achievement, The Importance of Being Earnest features many of Wilde’s best loved characters, including Lady Bracknell, Algernon Moncrieff and John ‘Jack’ Worthing. The tightly structured play is a satire of the classic story of best friends and bachelors, Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing, both played superbly by Billy Morton and Alex Lushington respectively. The pals seem to have found the perfect way to escape their social responsibilities and tiresome lives. They both create alter egos called Ernest and so lead double lives – one in the city and one in the country. In typical Oscar Wilde fashion, when the men both try to win the hearts of two women, who both claim to only love men named Ernest, the theme of keeping up with appearances comes into its own! As romance blossoms, they both become more and more tangled in the deception and misadventure.
Into this state of total confusion and hilarious misunderstandings enters the formidable Lady Bracknell, with a most noteworthy performance by Lucy Kilpatrick Melville with great comic timing and stage presence. Love interests, Matilda Hadcock as Cecily and Rose Mcauley as Gwendoline both give crisp, charismatic and gleeful performances and all the cast work exceptionally well together, never taking the show too seriously.
Set and Lighting Designers, Jacqui Lewis and David Long have expressed the essential features of 1920s design with delightful and stylish art deco pastiche using potter Clarice Cliff and Charles Rennie Macintosh style furniture for inspiration
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It is evident throughout that all hard working cast relish the opportunity to play the comedy and with the well-loved script jam packed full of witticisms the performance is a resounding success. Congratulations and thanks to all the cast and crew!
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £14
The Importance of Being Earnest is showing at The Oxford Playhouse, Oxford from Tuesday 16th April to Saturday 20th April, for more information or to book tickets visit https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/the-importance-of-being-earnest
or call the box office on 01865 3053
Beaumont Street, Oxfordshire, OX1 2LW