Review: EUTC's The Importance of Being Earnest

Edinburgh University Theatre Company, The Importance of Being Earnest

Rating: ★ ★ ★.5

After encountering Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest one is met with the realisation that more cannot be asked from a comedy: it has pace, it has drama, it has eccentric characters engaging in clever wordplay, it has twists and turns that satisfyingly culminate in a truly absurd conclusion. Yet with so much comedic brilliance embedded into the text, Wilde’s play is incredibly demanding. A production of The Importance of Being Earnest is not a guaranteed success. And it pains me to say that, despite its moments of comedic success, Edinburgh University Theatre Company’s (EUTC) production was ultimately outpaced by the script it endeavoured to adapt.

In their endearing address to the audience director El Mair expresses that the production has sparked a realisation that ‘the marvelously superfluous magic of theatercraft’ lies in the artistic process rather than in its result.  And while this adorably eloquent piece pays a worthy compliment to their team’s talents, I cannot help but question whether Mair was not overly committed to their specific vision for the production. Case in point - the accents. The exaggerated received pronunciation weighs down the actors performances, hindering the comedy and irony of the script rather than assisting it. Safiya Kilroy-Friedman (Jack Worthing) was visibly stiff in the First Act, struggling to balance the accent, quick dialogue, and stylised movements imposed on the role. Her performance gains momentum as the show progresses, culminating in a dynamic, layered, and earnestly funny rendition of the play’s final scene. Thomas Nibbs’ Canon Chasuble and Karis Halpin’s Miss Prism suffer a similar issue - the actors are preoccupied with their assigned accents; the negotiation between their characters and the accents is visible on stage and hampers the show’s pace. Much like Kilroy-Friedman, Nibbs and Halpin adjust to their roles in time for a strong finale. Nibbs’ earnest and restrained delivery lands Canon Chasuble a deadpan quality reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s characters. With his grounded approach to humour, Nibbs courteously balances the more over-the-top delivery of his castmates without compromising his character’s comedic potential. Meri Sounenlahti’s outing as the two butlers attempts to provide a similar encore. And while her intentionally poor French accent managed to make the audience laugh, I consider it a disservice to the actress’ comedic talent. Admittedly I am biased - the use of accents as an attempt at humour is a personal pet peeve of mine. And while flanderized European accents are synonymous with student productions of period pieces, EUTC’s production would have undoubtedly benefitted had it been flexible enough to drop the accents when they evidently did not work.

Ella Peattie as Algernon Moncrieff stood out as the exception to this rule: she navigates Wilde’s dynamic script with natural swagger and comfort that allows the audience to indulge in Moncrieff’s dandyism. The artistic collaboration between Peattie and baked goods produces comedic gold (although I was genuinely concerned she might choke). Her performance exemplifies the culmination of Mair’s vision for the production, embodying Wilde's quintessential hedonist with refreshing flare. Peattie evidently understood the demands of her role, delivering the night’s strongest performance. Tai Remus Elliot (Cecily Cardew) and Zac Askham (Gwendolen Fairfax) delivered similarly strong performances. Remus Elliot’s sly smile and cheeky delivery give Cecily a neurotic girlish charm, while Askham’s performance combines poise and humor, rendering Gwendoline as more mature yet equally erratic. As a result, the duo bounces off each other with the speed and precision required from Wilde’s dialogue. Their girlish laughs at the end of their first encounter in Act Two are absolutely hysterical, providing a strong finale to the show’s funniest scene. Claudia Collins’ Lady Bracknell is quintessentially Victorian - her matter-of-fact delivery of some of the play’s most absurd lines is true to the ignorant hypocrisy her character represents. The actors’ performances operate from an understanding of Wilde’s text and, as a result, are the most faithful to it. 

With live music, dynamic set changes, and detailed costumes, one has to admire the team’s ambitious production. Nhi Tran’s costumes are a sumptuous rendering of Victorian dress in vibrant colors that look right at home in the play’s candy-colored set (Ava Tumblety and Tanya Molleson). The dynamic lighting (Aaron Rashid) and sound design (Atalanta Lewis) support both the play’s aesthetics and storytelling. The live string quartet (Saleem Nassar and Ewan Robertson - violin; Jasper Fuller - viola; Lara Andrews - cello) was creatively incorporated into the play as classical statues. The ‘servants’ (Lauralyn Bibson, Meri Suonenlahti, Gloria Hunter-Tilney) transporting one of the statues at the opening of Act Two was absolutely wild(e). And while the musicians’ rendition of Sufjan Stevens’ Mystery of Love was frankly not the best, their performances during the intervals were a brilliant showcase of their talent, with the performance of Brother Lewis being particularly impressive. Visually EUTC’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a triumph. By combining strong visuals with live string music, colourful lighting and the announcer’s voice during the intervals , the production immerses the audience into a truly indulgent theater experience.

Despite its flaws, EUTC’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest showcases the ambition and creativity of a talented team. The cast operates with Wilde’s script adequately enough and, after gaining confidence in their performances, produces a string of hilarious moments that leads to a satisfying Third Act. The play’s strong finale demonstrates how talented the cast is, leaving the audience with a bittersweet taste of what the entire show could have been.