Review: The Importance of Being Earnest

It was an important day for many, this Saturday. The Scotland v England rugby match, Valentine’s Day, and St. Andrews University’s own production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Arguably a very homosexual day overall. As the production teams’ recent Instagram post pointed out, this is exactly 131 years from Oscar Wilde’s premiere in 1895 at London St. James’ Theatre. From the wit, the absurdity, and those flamboyant-as-ever brothers, the legacy of Oscar Wilde’s writing was shown much respect in this take on the famous play. 

ID: Sarah Lietzenmayer, Hannah Glen, Buster van der Geest, Ella Byrne-Cabot, and Struan Barker. Credit: Kendra Ward.

As we stepped into the small studio theatre in the Byre, the set was minimal - just a long chaise-longue, with a bar cart on stage right, and a chair with a small table on stage left. As much as an extravagant set can assist greatly in expressing the dramatics of high society and themes of social obligation, the cast played their parts in such a committed way so as not to let the humble settings hinder the story. To speak to the cast members' acting, the accent work was quite brilliant and the physical comedy was particularly attention grabbing and got many laughs from the crowd. In the first act, the actor playing Earnest (Jack), Struan Barker, was eating some slightly stale, buttered toast while him and Algernon, played by Buster Ratcliffe van der Geest, were tiffing and the struggle of chewing was made part of the comedy of the scene as he checked for water in the empty prop carafe, and making the struggle part of showing the humorously frivolous, self-absorbed nature of Algernon’s monologuing.

To speak to the writing itself, queer narratives can be seen throughout – all of which were played out as clearly as one could ask from a ‘straight’-cut production such as this one. The camp dandying of Wilde’s characters is something seen throughout a number of his works, and the playwright himself was famously gay. This opens up questions of how he may have represented his own struggles in his works. 

ID: Buster van der Geest and Struan Barker. Credit: Kendra Ward.

There are a few key takeaways from a queer viewing of The Importance of Being Earnest. First being the activity of ‘Bunbury’-ing; the adoption of an alter ego of sorts, sprung from one’s desire to lead a different life than the one that is expected of them. The notion of closeted-ness and ‘coming out’ can also be seen as both ‘Earnests’ ask their respective fiances “Would you still love me if my name were Algernon/Jack?”. In this, we see two people looking for their partners/loved ones to accept them for a hidden identity. In a more comedic sense, these moments had another, sillier, interpretation. All I could think of is that if they were characters written today as 20-somethings, they would be saying “Would you still love me if I were a worm?” These poor guys are nonsensical, desperate and are waiting for their fiancées to reassure them. These moments also flip the gender roles around slightly as the men look to the women for guidance and appraisal. The flipping of gender roles are made jokes, too, as Gwendolen, played by Hannah Glen, says “home is the proper space for a man”.

ID: Hannah Glen and Ella Byrne-Cabot. Credit: Kendra Ward.

While these two men do have female love interests, and are found out to be brothers are the end of the play, Their friendship is packed with flirty undertones, silly jokes and a sense of closeness that, along with Algernon’s overdressed, overenthusiastic campness, can show the questioning of gender roles or a deeper desire between them. This leads to a reading of their respective straight relationships as endeavors for lavender marriages, looking to the women in their lives which they deem they should be with. One of the most amusing parts of this production which exuded this energy was in the last act. Once the girls had forgiven Algernon and (then) Jack for lying about their names and pretending to have brothers, the two men - in their excitement and relief - looked to one another, held hands and jumped in a circle with glee at the news. More excited for and with one another than they were with their soon-to-be wives. 

The impression of marriage in general throughout the performance is played with great humour - as the writing suggests. At one point Algernon speaks quite passionately about the indecency and absurdity of how women flirt with their own husbands!! And at multiple points throughout, we hear Algernon speak about love and marriage as a downright burden, something unimpressive and unromantic. Additionally,  Lady Bracknell (played by Sarah Lietzenmayer), of course, has quite the traditional look on marriage - having no interest in the thrills of romance and love. Despite this, my gf and I were amused at the quickness for which Algernon and Cecily (Ella Byrne-Cabot) were engaged as it reminded us of plenty of young lesbian relationships. 

As a fun Valentine’s Day date, The Importance of Being Earnest, produced by Molly Robertson, and co-directed by Nyasha Mugwanda and Kendra Ward was great fun, with all members of the team delivering a valuable, committed performance full of all the brilliance (and queer-coding) we expect from the play.

By Alyssa (she/her)