REVIEW BY TOM WORSNOP
EDITED BY EMMA PARFITT
Old Camberwell Grammarian Theatre Company’s staging of The Importance of Being Earnest offers a visually delightful rendition of Oscar Wilde’s iconic farce about two upper-class bachelors, named Jack and Algernon. Each are pretending to be a fictional man named ‘Ernest’ in order to win over two women they’ve fallen in love with – Gwendolen and Cecily respectively. The play is a popular one for adaptation, as it features a decently-sized cast of colourful characters, who have a very clear and era-specific characterisation of Victorian England.
Upon entering the space, you’d see that the set (David Pedan and Stephen Bennie) seems minimalist in its fittings, with some tasteful uses of era-fitting furniture, before music plays and a projection emerges onto the cyclorama screen. It suddenly fills the space, fully enveloping the whole scene into the world of the play. The costumes (by Jennifer Bennie with Mia Rodgers), too, are nothing short of beautiful. For characters as flamboyant as these, the stunning period-accurate attire is fantastic, and gives the whole production a professional and luxurious feel.
The bookending of each act with narration from the otherwise only mentioned character of Lord Bracknell, and use of era-specific music as the lines of the set are traced out on the projection and actors stand in silhouette, is a stylish way of incorporating the transitions into the performance. This meant that no set transition ever felt too drawn out. However, I do think that the choice to always shift the music from a fully-orchestrated backing track to a recording of what seems to be Algernon playing the same piece poorly on piano, was an odd choice. While I appreciate that it helps to emphasise when the show is transitioning, and when the scene has ‘begun’, it did feel a bit distracting and atonal to the scenes, particularly from Act II to III.
As for the performers, Nicholas Sarlos-Welsh’s Algernon feels extremely fresh, energetic, glamourous, and is a joy to watch. There is an air of casual, effortless cool that exudes out of his character. This contemporary performance does cast an interesting contrast to the staid stand-and-deliver effort of Ali Samaei as Jack. He has good chemistry with Gwendolen, and especially with Lady Bracknell. However, sometimes his character feels a bit lost in scenes with Algernon, as it is unclear whether he is the straight-laced main character whose perspective the audience can view the show from, or an oddball comedic character. His strongest moments are when he is understated, with a seriousness that contrasts comedically to the ridiculous pomposity of the characters around him.
Where the cast really shines is in the ensemble. Stephen Keen, playing the double-role of the butlers Lane and Merriman, does a superb job of presenting two contrasting characters, each one a clear riff on common depictions of servants, as either the ‘stiff-upper-lip’ or the rough cockney. He has wonderful chemistry with both Algernon, and Cecily, which is a testament to his versatility. Rebecca Cecil is also particularly brilliant as Gwendolen. Every gesture made, and line delivered, is done so with such a purposeful choice, that the character shines throughout the whole play. Phoenix Bennett’s Cecily is played with a subtle and youthful innocence that is at its best in scenes with Gwendolen. Julie Murphy is terrific as Lady Bracknell, offering a fitting aristocratic air, and a plethora of withering one-liners, doing Wilde’s text justice. However, it must be said that the pair of Miss Prism and Doctor Chasuble absolutely stole the show. Fiona Hare and Mark Scholem’s portrayals of the strange and endearing couple were a riot to watch, with a physicality and tone of voice that struck the perfect blend of camp and pathos.
At times, the staging of the play feels a little static, where the unfurling of Algernon and Jack’s schemes could lend itself to a more frenetic movement. Part of the challenge of Wilde’s text is the verbosity of it all. Where the characters have so much to say, and they speak so eloquently, it becomes a task to figure out how to ensure that there is clear physicality to pair with the words, and to add to the already strong visual aspects of this production. Sometimes, there are instances where characters wander around the space as they talk, and it doesn’t look as purposeful as it could be. Yet it is a testament to Stephen Bennie’s direction that the characterisation feels so genuine to the text, and yet still so unique.
It feels fitting to say that the play gains momentum as it went along, with the third act being its strongest, as the whole cast comes together to be a terrific ensemble. With stylish use of silhouette, divine costuming and set, and a cast buzzing with energy and humour, this production is a worthy adaptation of the original masterpiece.
Camberwell Grammarians’ Theatre Company’s The Importance of Being Earnest played July 24th – 26th at the Middleton Theatre, Camberwell Grammar School.
Photography by Jennifer Bennie and Stephen Keen.
TOM WORSNOP is a performer and writer, and has been involved in Unimelb theatre since 2019.
EMMA PARFITT (she/her) is the Dialog’s head editor and has written Dialog reviews alongside studying towards her science degree for the past two years. She is a production manager, stage manager and producer on the Melbourne indie theatre scene and a veteran of student theatre at Union House Theatre.
The Dialog is supported by Union House Theatre.
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