The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest is of course a very well-loved play by the brilliant word-smith Oscar Wilde, and although written in 1895, it never dates. It is clever, extremely amusing, with pearls of (Wilde’s) wisdom dropping every couple of minutes. It’s a cheery play, and in these solemn and worrying times, that was a great treat. It’s a bright play, and I was struck by the lovely light sets and bright lighting used to great effect. Right from the start one’s mood was lifted. This production was originally planned for 2020, and of course was a Covid casualty, but I am so glad that Director Amanda Jones and her great cast revived it for this autumn production.

Ewhurst Village Hall is very attractive, quite cosy in fact, with the luxury of tiered seating.

The well-designed programme offered an interesting note from the Chairman; a piece on Oscar Wilde by the Director, with a beautiful quote by Wilde’s faithful friend Robert Ross; a piece on the play accompanied by a photo of the original 1895 playbill (in which I note that the cast were not listed in order of appearance, but with the gents first, ladies second!). Interesting cast profiles and a piece on the Ewhurst Players completed this interesting read. I loved the picture of the handbag together with Cecily’s books and the tiered tea stand – complete of course with cucumber sandwiches!

The sets were very attractive, furnished with chaises longues, tea tables, bookshelves and the like. The garden at the Manor House was extremely fine, with a beautifully painted sunny backdrop which included a statue, with columns and urns full of roses in the foreground. Yellow roses curled round one of the columns, and hung from baskets on the wall, I think.  The garden was furnished attractively with a white metalwork bench, table and chairs. The Manor House morning room in the final act was eye-catching too, with blue bookshelves and a blue chaise longue. I guess the most important props were that famous handbag, and plates full of cucumber sandwiches and muffins!

Both lighting and sound were very effective throughout. Algy’s playing ‘Daisy Daisy’ on the piano offstage led us into each act and set the scene. There were crashings and bangings as Jack tried to unearth that handbag from the box room. Discreetly placed stage microphones ensured that everyone was able to hear every word of this enchanting text very plainly indeed.

For me, one of the delights of plays such as these, is the glorious costumes, and here Ewhurst Players came up trumps. Theses costumes were a delight. The two fellows, Algy and Jack, appeared first in check suits, one sporting spats and a very loud yellow cravat, I believe it was (which justified Algy’s later remark about Jack having an awful taste in ties!). Later at the Manor, Algy appeared in an amazing yellow, blue and black blazer, yellow waistcoat and tie, and a fine boater, looking very snazzy indeed! Following his appearance in full mourning to announce the death of his ‘brother Earnest’, complete with beribboned top hat, Jack also appeared in a highly colourful blazer, boater and so on. Glorious!

The ladies too were delightfully clad in long elegant gowns, especially Lady Bracknell’s stunning purple silk number, one could really feast one’s eyes on that, shimmering purple and blue in the light. They sported jaunty befeathered little hats too.  Cecily, being only 18, wore a more simple dress, and very pretty it was. Lady Bracknell, when descending upon the Manor House later, was clad in a fine olive green dress, with green shoes and gloves. Miss Prism wore a plainer grey, purple and green outfit befitting her role of governess. As always attention to details of costume can really enhance a production, and Ewhurst got this just right.

Director Amanda Jones had put together an excellent cast. The two young gentlemen Algernon Moncrieff (Simon Fraser) and Jack Worthing (Barry Harrison-Fudge) played well off one another, their mutual affection and irritation with the other was a delight to watch – a great team!

The imperious and fierce Lady Bracknell was a fine turn by Jay Garland, who put poor Jack through his paces in his attempt to woo her daughter Gwendolyn, and carried off the famous line ‘A HANDBAG!’  very well indeed.

When the two young ladies, the confident the Hon Gwendolyn Fairfax (Catherine Staples) and the sweet young ward of Jack, Cecily Cardew (Tor House) met, sparks initially flew, and we were perhaps surprised at how the innocent Cecily held her own in the witty put-down department. But then, as the young men had predicted:

Jack:

I’ll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister!

Algy:

Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first!

they soon did become ‘sisters’, all sweetness and light, once they realised they did not love the same ‘Earnest’, but instead Algy and Jack. Here again, a great partnership between Catherine Staples and Tor House. And what a splendid quartet they made, these four characters.

Wendy Davies gave us a wonderful Miss Prism, strict with regard to Cecily’s German verbs and so on, but otherwise a gentle soul, slightly scatterbrained, but obviously fond of her charge, and extremely fond in another way of dear Reverend Chasuble, a star turn from Ben Aveyard.

There were all kinds of nice touches of extra humour popped in here and there, one that I especially noted was the ‘sofa choreography’ of Jack and Algy during the final act, with synchronised leg crossing and hat twirling!

So this was a slick, buzzing, well-directed performance of this perennial favourite. We all left with smiles on our faces!

 

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