Wilde would have chuckled approvingly from the stalls
Oscar Wilde called The Importance of Being Earnest “a trivial comedy for serious people,” I don’t think ‘seriousness’ is being aimed at in Max Webster’s fresh take at the National Theatre. It looks more like their fun Christmas escapist offer, with elements of panto mixed with carnival, writes Katie Kelly.
The play leans heavily on elements of classic farce: mistaken identities, crossed wires, and thwarted lovers abound. There’s a clever twist involving the famous “handbag”. But let’s not pretend the plot is the star here. Wilde’s relentless parade of one-liners and pithy observations is the real show, and this cast delivers them with aplomb.
Jack and Algernon, our delightfully useless heroes, bring a lot of physical comedy to the stage. Their banter, antics and arguments(most notably about muffins) are very entertaining. But there’s a noticeable addition of sexual tension—particularly between the men and their female counterparts—that stretches Wilde’s original script. It’s a playful touch, and one suspects Wilde would have chuckled approvingly from the stalls.
Victorian prudishness famously cast women as passive recipients of male desire, but this production shakes things up, particularly with Gwendolen Fairfax. Gone is the insipid ingénue of Wilde’s original. Here, Gwendolen is a fiery, sassy force who takes control of every scene she’s in. It’s a much-needed update and a highlight of the production.
Then, of course, there’s Lady Bracknell. Sharon D Clarke strides onto the stage like a battleship at full sail, stealing many a scene. Her pronunciation of ‘cucumber’ brought the house down. A vision in yellow, she’s a joy to watch and a reminder of how much fun Wilde had making fun of Victorian pomposity.
Visually, the production dazzles. We follow the hapless young men from a beautiful Victorian parlour to a gloriously bright garden and into a magnificent country house, all brought to life with sumptuous sets and costumes. The opening scene, though, feels unnecessarily dark—a clever attempt to unsettle the audience, but a bit too self-consciously. Thankfully, the vibrancy of the rest of the play more than makes up for it and the final scene is a riot of fun and colour.
Ultimately, Webster keeps the focus where it belongs: on Wilde’s words. The characters and plot are there to serve the script, not the other way around, and the sheer wit of the dialogue is well served by the cast’s energetic delivery.
If you’ve seen The Importance of Being Earnest before, this production offers enough fresh touches to keep you entertained. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. It’s sharp, funny, and gloriously ridiculous—exactly as Wilde intended.
The run is sold out.
Info: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest/
