Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, National Theatre

Fresh from his West End transfer of Macbeth, director Max Webster lands another big hit with his garish, camp, super fun rendition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Staged in one of the country’s most sober theatres, this truly is “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People”. It’s an utter delight, the perfect Christmas choice.

The set-up of the classic farce is simple: two young men, both established in London’s Victorian high society, successfully live double lives to avoid their social liabilities until they can’t escape from them anymore. Webster fully embraces Wilde’s idiosyncratic humour, revelling in the irreverence he’s staging, exploiting and stretching it to present a flawless piece of comic theatre. It’s properly ha-ha funny and the starry company look like they’re genuinely having a grand ol’ time too.

This is an Earnest for a new generation, Bridgertonian in its approach and just brat enough. Everybody is a little gay. Everybody is incredibly horny. Everybody has the smoothest comeback. Webster forgoes any sanctimony with sacrilegious extravagance. Gorgeously anachronistic costumes by Rae Smith make a splash on her own set design, shaking up convention in favour of a more original take. Ncuti Gatwa opens the show in a hot pink gown, surrounded by cross-dressing black-tie debauchery, setting the mood for what’s coming. It’s the first of a series of tableaux vivants that characterise Webster’s stylistic exercise. 

Gatwa is a brilliant Algernon, deliciously flippant in his exchanges and suitably hilarious in his subterfuge. He establishes a mesmerising relationship with Hugh Skinner’s Jack Worthing, who balances ditziness and pragmatic shiftiness at once. They delectate in the push and pull of Wilde’s wit, with Gatwa ultimately acting as bait for much of Skinner’s stunts and escapades. He’s a blithe devil on our shoulder, breaking the ultra-thin fourth wall, egging us on. The Doctor gets Wild(e) but Sharon D Clarke (hand)bags it. She is the heart and soul of the production.

Introducing Lady Bracknell like we’ve never seen before, she’s caustic and sarcastic, relentlessly side-eyeing the younger characters and ruling the stage with her walking cane. Unfazed and imperious, Clarke rejects the preconceived ideas one may have about her role. You won’t hear the famous handbag line wrung out or played for laughs in cahoots with the audience, but you will feel the sheer disgust when she finds out Jack’s adoption story. It’s a priceless moment.

Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́’s Gwendolen is her mother’s daughter. She and Eliza Scanlen’s Cecily bring new blood to the two (often overlooked) young women. They deliver strong characterisations of clever, sexually repressed girls who are unfortunately still at the mercy of the patriarchy that surrounds them.

A few other highlights: Richard Cant and Amanda Lawrence as the Reverend and Miss Prism (her continually down-turned lips only easing when he sees him!) and Julian Bleach’s dinner gong that grows each time he walks in. Plus, Smith’s Greek Revival proscenium that hides away scene changes and tomfoolery prep behind a thick red velvet curtain without making any fuss about it. Details are everywhere, from scenography to performances, making it a complete treat. More than anything, it’s a bloody good night out.

You’ll be gagged, gooped etc. It’s effervescent, exuberant, and proudly loud - we think Oscar Wilde would have loved this.

The Importance of Being Earnest runs at The National Theatre until 25 January 2025 and will be streamed into cinemas from 20 February 2025.

Photo Credits: Marc Brenner

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