York Theatre Royal, April 2018
by Libby Ince
Oscar Wilde’s plays are timeless classics that have made audiences laugh for over a hundred years. Remarkably, I have never seen Oscar Wilde’s work live in action, so I was intrigued for what was in store. The Importance of Being Earnest follows the life of Jack Worthing who invents a fictional brother called Earnest. He does this to make himself look more upper class within society, so he can marry Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolyn Fairfax. This ultimately causes many issues as Jacks attempt to leave his dull life and become “upper class and successful” Earnest, his friend Algernon has the same idea. Algernon also transforms in to the façade of Earnest in order to marry Jacks young and beautiful ward, Cecily. They both end up together in the country which causes things to go awry as their deceptions begin to be discovered.
At first, I was a little weary about the play as the general demographic are people of the older generation. I felt as though I wouldn’t understand the comedy and general structure of the play. However, Gwen Taylor, a former star in Coronation Street, gave an excellent portrayal of the iconic Lady Bracknell which was intriguing to watch throughout due to her witty humour and formidable stage presence.
The structure of the play effectively involves the audience emotionally in to the characters predicaments. Thomas Howes Algernon and Sandy Clarke’s Jack Worthing contrast beautifully throughout the play. One moment that is poignant is that While we feel pity on Jack having to invent a façade for himself to gain some sort of social status, Thomas Howes who plays Algernon and is also a previous cast member of Downton Abbey, brings in effortless and exceptional comedy.
This is extremely effective throughout the play as it corresponds with Oscar Wilde’s intention of bringing in ironic and farce elements that make it the traditional play it is.
This is achieved by the director Alastair Whatley who completely shapes the play in to the classic that it is. Even the 20th century costumes and general manner of the characters, shows that the story has been done justice.
Although, I do believe that this play is more for theatre buffs and general fans of traditionally structured plays, I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was completely not what I expected. It was also pleasant to see the audiences’ reaction throughout the play in fits of laughter which made the experience even more entertaining and enjoyable.