THE CRITIC AS CRITIC I : OSCAR WILDE

A Portfolio of Theatre and Book Reviews

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No 52 : AUGUST 2010

With increasing coverage of books that reflect other aspects of the fin de sicle, this page has been split into two with effect from August 2010. THE CRITIC AS CRITIC I covers Oscar Wilde; THE CRITIC AS CRITIC II the other books that have come to our attention. We are grateful for the co-operation of the publishers.

Shaw reviews appear in Shavings; all other theatre reviews in . Exhibition reviews and reviews of books relating to the visual arts now appear in our journal VISIONS which is reached by clicking its symbol

All authors whose books are reviewed are invited to respond. This page is edited by D.C. Rose.

v      In an article for THE OSCHOLARS which she titled Wilde on Tap, Patricia Flanagan Behrendt, then our American Editor, set out an agenda for our theatre coverage that we will try to follow. This article can be found by clicking .

v      For tables with links to all our reviews click

Review by Anna Orhanen (Kings College London)

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Cochrane Theatre, London

On Saturday 12th of June 2010, I went to see a production of Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by John Risebero and Ben Horslen, at the Cochrane Theatre, London. The production by Antic Disposition was first put on at Jermyn Street Theatre in West End three years ago; following a sold-out season in 2007, the show now returned to London for three nights only before setting off for a tour in France later this summer.

Antic Disposition was founded in 2005, and over the past five years the companys repertoire has included classic plays such as Shakespeares Richard III and Much Ado About Nothing as well as an original musical version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It is always a challenge to stage a play that is expected to offer the audience an evening of guaranteed amusement; although the raw material of a play like Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest is famously excellent, it comes with a particular pressure to be delivered in a fresh and original way. Antic Disposition did well in bringing Wildes play to life in a thoroughly entertaining way, much thanks to the sparkling on-stage chemistry between the actors. There is no doubt the audience was gripped from the very beginning of the first act, in which the two young gentlemen of the play, Algernon Moncrieff (brilliant James Russell) and Jack Worthing (Ashley Cook) compare their methods of leading double-lives. Jack has created a whimsical younger brother Earnest, into whose shoes he steps whenever in the London; in the country, he poses as much more serious and thoroughly respectable Jack Worthing, particularly for the sake of his young ward, Cecily. Algie, on the other hand, has a sickly imaginary friend, Bunbury, who provides him with an excuse to flee from tiring social occasions.

Both James Russell and Ashley Cook acted out their roles seamlessly. The unquestionable star of the evening, however, was James Pellow as Lady Bracknell. Pellow has played Dame in pantomime many times, and every last of his gestures, voice and movements was thoroughly convincing. (My companion remarked that in a way Pellow came across as the most feminine character on stage that evening!) Particularly the scene where Lady Bracknell cross-examines her potential son-in-law, Jack Worthing, evoked emphatic laughs and spontaneous applause amongst the audience.

Another wonderful performance was that of Peter Mair as the two butlers, Lane and Merriman. Through his careful avoidance of any vehemence and his minimalist gestures as Algernons Lane, and nothing-but minimalist coughs and facial expressions as Jacks Merriman, Mair truly delivered two different people on the stage. The voices of Lane and Merrimen were in fact so different that I personally did not realise the two roles were done by the same man until in act three. Mair started his career in the 1960s and is experienced both as a role player and voice over artist.

The dialogue between Jacks fianc Gwendolyn (Anouke Brook) and Cecily (Jayne Dickinson) was eloquent, feisty and vibrant. Occasionally, however, I felt they did not necessarily succeed one-hundred-percent in conveying the all the deep ironic nuances underneath al the feminine silliness of their characters; maybe more could have been extracted from the powerful position these two women hold in relation to their poor beaus despite all the Bunburying the gentlemen get up to.

Much to their merit, Risebero and Horslen had chosen to stick to the original setting of the play in upper class Victorian England. The stage design by Risebo was impressive, with a big empty frame in the middle of the stage, used as a door, window to the blossoming garden and a bookshelf in the three acts. One must also congratulate the costume supervisor, Sophie Howard, particularly on the costumes of Lady Bracknell: Lady Bracknells entrance in act two in her extremely flamboyant dress on James Pellows well-built figure made the audience break into heartfelt laughter.

While a century and a half between the life on the stage and that of the audience was retained through the staging and costume, the distance between the milieux of the characters and the audience was equally swept aside during the evening: Wildes witticisms and the playful dialogue seem to address the audiences now as much as ever. Remarks such as the English education leads nowhere and I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that kindled particularly wholehearted amusement in the audience and showed that some fundamental things like jokes on the educational system or vegetarians still apply.

In August, Antic Disposition will be performing the play at various open-air locations in southwest France, as a part of the Festival Shakespeare du Quercy (3-11 August 2010). (More information on the locations and the festival at: www.festivalshakespeare.org) As someone in whose heart Oscar Wilde holds a special place, I would say that this delightful production of Earnest is guaranteed to deliver Wildean wit and humour to the audiences abroad in utmost style.

v      Anna Orhanen is a Finnish Oscar Wilde scholar, currently working chiefly on Proust.

Review by David Charles Rose

DE PROFUNDIS

Oscar Wilde : De Profundis, adapted and performed by Christophe Truchi at the Ateliers d'Amphoux, Avignon 8th-31st July 2010. Seen 10th July.

While Oscar Wildes comedies remain as popular as ever with large audiences, his other writings, not intended for stage presentation, are being increasingly adapted for film, television and theatre. This allows one to receive Wildes thoughts mediated by directors and actors, giving the audience access to interpretations through selection and emphasis denied them as simple readers. The French have a taste for De Profundis. Michel Voletti gave us a