Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Rose Theatre

Oscar Wilde's 1895 farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and the comedy of social manners still skewers the vanity and self-importance of the Victorian upper classes.

Gwendoline loves Ernest, Jack loves Gwendoline. Cecily also loves Ernest, Algernon loves Cecily and Ernest? Well, Ernest doesn't actually exist.

Like Wilde, Denzel Westley-Sanderson, winner of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Award for young directors, maintains a great pace, pushes boundaries and brings some fresh ideas to the social comedy: an all-black cast, a drag queen as Lady Bracknell and a lesbian twist.

Wilde's ascerbic and witty writing is a gift to perform, but often there is a reliance on the text to carry the whole production. Westley-Sanderson takes the script as the basis for the show and uses it as a means to convey the forgotten history of Black Victorians, without making it feel worthy or didactic. Algernon's art is reminiscent of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the portraits on the wall of Jack's house are all of real-life Black Victorians; elegant and poised. Also noticible is the way in which Black hair is embraced in many beautiful guises; braided, coiffured, or natural.

The production retains the quick-fire wit and eccentricities of the characters. Abiola Owokoniran makes a outstanding stage debut as a dashing, sybaritic and slightly camp Algernon; the epitome of dandyish style over substance. He is an actor to keep an eye on.

Owokoniran also has great chemistry with Justice Ritchie's tense and very likeable Jack Worthing. Phoebe Campbell, also making her stage debut, shows natural confidence and flair as the bubbly Cecily.

There is a lot of amusingly exaggerated acting to convey the parody within the script. However, some of the comedy is overdone; Adele James is a lively stage presence, but often too animated as Gwendolen. As Lady Bracknell, Daniel Jacob - Drag Race's Vinegar Strokes - is wonderfully acidic and over-the-top, but there is a just a little too much of the pantomime dame in the performance, which undermines some of the more subtle jibes of the character.

The production looks delightful. Designer Lily Arnold's beautifully realised set works very well, especially the clever panels which become transparent to show characters eavesdropping. Her detailed costumes are decorative and lovely to look at, particularly in Jack's hilariously overdramatic mourning hat and Lady Bracknell's well-upholstered dresses.

It's not very nuanced, but it is full of joy and feels like a breath of fresh air.

The Importance Of Being Earnest is at the Rose Theatre until 12 November

Photo Credit: Mark Senior

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