REVIEW: Wilde's Earnest a tough prospect for theatre company
Cast work hard for laughs at Court Theatre.
PRETTY much every line of dialogue in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is a little gem. It's no wonder the play is beloved by amateur and professional companies alike, not to mention audiences.
The Prospect Theatre Company threw themselves into their interpretation of the classic with relish when it played at The Court Theatre, Tring, last week.
But no matter how earnest they became the cast struggled to inject any air into this souffl of a comedy. One woman in the audience loudly guffawed for the entire stalls but, in truth, the rest were more polite with their appreciation.
Earnest is a whimsical comedy of mistaken identity, love, and social mores in late Victorian England and was the writer's most popular play.
There's barely a line that doesn't raise at least a smile – the most famous being Lady Bracknell's exclamation of "A handbag!". Indeed one can almost judge the success of a performance by the actress's interpretation of drama's most famous line.
In this Caroline McDonnell must be deemed sadly wanting. It was said almost apologetically and with a certain reticence.
She had neither the air or bearing of a titled lady which is hardly her fault. Amateur groups often have little choice when it comes to casting and she was hopelessly miscast.
Lady B is one of the stage's most indomitable gorgons who puts the fear of god into young buck Jack Worthing (Ben Holman) as he tries to woo her daughter, Gwendolen (Anna-Louise Trevett).
Caroline seemed to be struggling with a cold which gave her a flushed appearance and a hoarse voice but, despite this, she gamely struggled on.
Jack's best friend, the ebullient and aristocratic man-about-town, Algernon Moncrieff, also has love on his mind – in-between scoffing cucumber sandwiches and muffins.
Tuirenn Hurstfield sank his teeth into the part and thoroughly enjoyed himself, no doubt adding a few pounds to his midriff during the four-night run.
His performance became livelier as the comedy progressed with much of the production relying on his firm grip of the role. Playing a cad and a waster is harder than it looks.
The highlight came when he and Jack bickered about love over afternoon tea. It became wonderfully Wodehousean.
It's often the cameos that get the greatest attention and in this Martin Tossounian gave one of the most memorable interpretation's of village rector, the Canon Chasuble, I've seen.
His performance swayed from the boozy to the seedily eccentric with the actor gripping his shabby jacket around himself like a comfort blanket.
The play's butlers – Jack's man, Merriman (Jon Holman), and Moncrieff's Lane (Bob Taylor) – were suitably dour in complete contrast to their reckless and flighty employers.
But a lot of Wilde's rapier-like wit and satire failed to amuse because the cast seemed unable to relax into their roles and remember they were playing comedy. The fizz simply fell flat. They were so intent in getting their lines right that they forgot how to act.
The very basic set and simple costumes brought home how tough it is for amateur groups to stage lavish productions but the Prospect Theatre Company worked hard to produce an amusing if not entirely riotous comedy.
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