Fringe review: Earnest?
Adapting Oscar Wilde’s epigram-filled farce yields entertaining, improv-heavy results. ★★★★
If you’ve forgotten to brush up on the main plot points of The Importance Of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s classic and, let’s face it, rather confusing play of false names and mistaken identities, don’t fret. All you need to know before rocking up to this version of Earnest? is that no one is who they seem and Lady Bracknell likes saying “a handbag” in a scandalised voice. In other words, there’s no need for the SparkNotes in this play within a play with plenty of audience interaction and subsequent improvisation along the way.
So, to the set-up: we quickly discover the lead actor is off on another job. Naturally, the show must go on, so we need to recast. From the audience. Josh Haberfield does a great job as embattled director Simon Slough: searching for the right replacement without letting the pace flag is quite a feat. Once found, there’s plenty of business and laughs around script, costume and pre-planned stage moves; none of it is exactly subtle but it is all good fun. In particular, Ben Mann’s Josh, the wordless stage manager, steals almost every scene he’s in with perfectly judged physical comedy.
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This Earnest follows the original play’s three act structure to its detriment. After a convincing set-up in act one, act two doesn’t move the chaos sufficiently on and we’re left hanging until act three for the conceit to fully realise itself in a joyful 15 minutes of super silliness. Getting there quicker would be no bad thing.
Earnest? is playing at The Peacock at Gluttony, Rymill Park from February 17 March 22
