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Oscar Wilde: The
Importance of Being Earnest
Director:
Jeff Goldberg
Royal Opera House, 4 March 2018.
Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is
probably the playwright’s most famous play; and the quintessential Victorian
“comedy of manners”. Apart from taking a satirical look at the superficiality
and pretensions of British society at the turn of the century, it is also a
supremely elegant piece of writing in Wilde’s epigrammatic fashion, peppered
with delicious witticisms.
A successful staging of this warhorse demands, above
all, an awareness of the correct style required. Jeff Goldberg’s production
seems to be confused about what that is. The director is sometimes able to invest
the comedic happenings onstage with a civilised grace; but the proceedings soon
degenerate into loud, broad farce. Movement and blocking are often clumsy; and
one wonders at the bizarre choice of keeping the butler onstage almost
constantly, as it is unnecessary and uncalled-for in the script.
Moreover, this is a play that celebrates the English
language and requires the words to be spoken precisely and eloquently, while
maintaining a fleet, smooth tempo-rhythm. But, in this production, the actors
tend to gabble through their lines with poor articulation and projection, with
the result that syllables are swallowed and words become unintelligible. Many
of the more famous lines are thrown away or do not have the requisite punch.
And there are MANY mispronunciations of simple words, names of places and even those
of the play’s own characters!
There are some edits made to the script; and while
these may be noticeable to someone who knows the play, in general the cuts do
not bleed. However, several memorable lines are missing; and this robs the
script of colour. The three acts have been compressed into two (which is often
done) but the interval comes at an odd point: instead of happening after Act 1
which is set in a London flat, it occurs unnaturally in the middle of Act 2
which is played, along with Act 3, in a country-house. The two butlers, each
belonging to one of these establishments, have been cleverly combined into a
single character, which works…somewhat.
Perhaps the truest acting in this production comes
from Takshay Tarneja as John Worthing, the play’s protagonist. Although he
is somewhat pallid, he does no wrong and somehow manages to convey the
character’s essence quite consistently. A greater contrast could not be
imagined than with Shreyas Porus Pardiwalla’s Algernon, who is spirited and
flamboyant but a little too campy and overtly farcical, playing to the
galleries. As for their sweethearts: Taniya Kalra’s Gwendolen looks the part
but is under-characterised, while Pashmina Roshan is charming and vivacious as
Cecily but often so indistinct in her speech that she cannot be understood.
Neeti Singhi in the role of Lady Bracknell (made
immortal by Dame Edith Evans) is young for the part but tries to carry it off
with an imperious manner, although her intentions are compromised by unfocussed
execution. Helen Absalom as Miss Prism looks the right age and initially
promises a vividly-projected characterisation; but this quickly becomes grossly
and irritatingly overdone. Sankalp Joshi as Dr. Chasuble is too youthful to be
her romantic interest; and Ankit Narang as the butler speaks and walks in a
strange, contrived way.
The production’s design is minimalistic and quite
effective, but with a couple of glaring flaws: a painted, oversized clock
displaying a constant time; and a roaring fireplace depicted by a large, static
photograph. The women’s costumes are pretty and appropriate but those of the
men leave a lot to be desired, with wrong jackets and a towelled bathrobe (worn
by Algernon) in which no self-respecting Victorian gentleman would have ever
received guests.
On the whole, the production leaves one with strong,
mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is heartening to see a group of young actors
trying their best to pay homage to the classics. On the other, one realises that
if THIS is currently their best, they have a long, long way to go. And what is
needed is an awareness of higher standards, with better and more intensive
training to achieve them.
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