Review: A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE at SHAW FESTIVAL

WILDE'S WITTY REPARTEE FLOURISHES IN A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

Ever the consummate commentator of society and gender, Oscar Wilde has never been afraid of controversy or potentially offending member of both sexes. Never has this been more evident than in his 1893 A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, which is receiving a glamorous new production at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake.

Director Eda Holmes has chosen to update the action to 1951, where in her Director's Notes she states "this was the year that Conservatives ousted the Labour government and Dior's New Look returned high fashion to a very feminine silhouette." Holmes uses a framing device of split second photos being taken of each of the glamorous women upon their entrances, underlining their inherent pomposity.For all intents and purposes, the era for much of the first scene could have been June 2016, with BREXIT shedding light on the political unrest in the UK.

"We in the House of Lords are never in touch with public opinion. That makes us a civilized body."-Lord Illingworth

Wilde is at the height of his witticism in this work, where the second scene plays out as if in Clare Booth Luce's THE WOMEN. The women of upper society all wax poetically about the proper social mores of the day, each extolling their beliefs in understanding the complexities of the male species. The group has gathered for the weekend at the Hunstanton estate, where the would-be younger set attempts to better their social standing, and in one specific case Gerald Arbuthnot has just been appointed secretary to playboy Lord Illingworth. But a series of hidden family secrets may potentially unravel his attaining this new position. Wilde seems to have decided that the only way to understand people is to study them as if a series of paradoxes-- If you think or believe the opposite of your intended desire, then you will achieve it. But ultimately this only proves that decoding behaviors of the opposite sex is true folly.

"Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed." -Lord Illingworth

Casting is exemplary and Fiona Reid as Lady Hunstanton embodied the grande dame of the manor, who is often adled by her amusing lack of memory for details. Her strong voice rings out with brilliant comic timing. Shaw stage veteran Mary Haney plays Lady Caroline Pontrefact with an acerbic tongue full of self righteousness and general disdain for lack of social graces.

Martin Happer, as Lord Illingworth, was every bit the handsome rogue who believes that no woman is out of his reach. Mr Happer's leading man good looks and swagger were perfect as the swarmy dandy. Prone to Wildean hyperbole, his proclamations regarding women elicited groans from many in the audience, as did his spewing of the title of the play. And this woman of no importance turns out to be Gerald's mother, Mrs Arbuthnot (played by Fiona Byrne). Ms. Byrne has the daunting challenge of portraying what can only be called a present day martyr. In 1893 her predicament of becoming an unwed mother 20 years prior may have elicited more sympathy from Victorian audiences, but often her plight comes across as a simpering woe-is-me victim. Ms. Byrne's portrayal seems a bit too cool and one wonders why her inner turmoil was not more evident in her voice and actions. Not until the culmination of the play does Ms. Byrne work from a slow simmer to her boiling point, but one hoped for more intensity in her performance, versus a sense of resigned complacency. Byrne's interactions with her son Gerald, played by Wade Bogert-O'Brien, tended toward old fashioned melodrama with all it's talk of religious piety, a life lost, and self deprecation. Mr. Bogert-O'Brien conveyed real frustration in dealing with his mother, while having to deliver lines that surely were not intended to be comedic, but have morphed into ridiculousness in 2016. The mother-son relationship became endearing, and melodrama aside, Mr. Bogert-O'Brien gave a touching performance in the final scene.

Diana Donnelly was statuesque as the flirtatious Mrs. Allonby and shone in her tirade of a speech on how men should handle women in a multitude of situations.

"The Ideal Man should talk to us as if we were goddesses, and treat us as if we were children. He should refuse all our serious requests, and gratify every one of our whims. He should encourage us to have caprices, and forbid us to have missions. He should always say much more than he means, and always mean much more than he says." -Mrs. Allonby

Ric Reid was hysterical as the Archdeacon Daubeny, demonstrating Wilde's brilliance in writing a character that truly serves no purpose except to interject great comic lines. Claire Jullien , costumed as a spectacle-wearing wallflower, was a nice contrast to Julia Course as the lovely visiting young American debutant, Hester Worsley. Ms. Course's disdain for what she observes in English society seems to be lost on the elder ladies in the manor, but helps to strengthen the conflict between the younger and older set. Her Puritanical thoughts are laughable to Mrs. Allonby, which heightens her exasperation.

Designer Michael Gianfresco's elegant production took full advantage of the fashions of the decade. Stunning gowns played as if in a runway show by Dior, or again, from the fashion show scene in THE WOMEN. Gianfresco uses a lovely palette of colors and silhouettes, which add to the stage's sumptuousness. His settings were elegant and airy, with wonderful use of curtains painted as trees, billowing drapes that glide across the stage and ethereal sheers.

Wilde always is at his best when writing for the female sex, and in the case of A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, the title surely was meant to be tongue in cheek. It is evident that the woman are much keener in understanding men than vice versa, and they have the upper hand in most cases. While the change in time period offered no significant advantage to the drama, the lavish costuming aptly fit the bill allowing the women's haute couture appearances to complement their innate fortitude.

"Men always want to be a woman's first love. That is their clumsy vanity. We women have a more subtle instinct about things. What we like is to be a man's last romance." -Mrs. Allonby

A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE plays at the Festival Theatre of the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake until October 22,2016. For further information visit shawfest.com.

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