Review: The Importance of Being Earnest (New Rep Theatre Company at Golden Goose Theatre)

Mar 29

4 min read

After reviewing A Doll’s House in February, it was a huge honour to be invited back to review The New Rep’s second offering of the year, The Importance of Being Earnest. I was keen to see if the quality of their shows would be consistent so back to Golden Goose Theatre I went.

The Importance of Being Earnest was written by Oscar Wilde in 1895, but The New Rep have modernised it for today’s audience without losing any of the story arc. I won’t detail the plot in my review, as that can easily be found elsewhere on the internet. I will purely discuss this production by the New Rep.

Kim Whatmore, Annabel Bellew, Emily Foxton and Zara Alleyne

Some of the cast members I had seen before in A Doll’s House, and they were joined by other performers. The entire cast was incredibly slick in this performance, especially with the frequent requirement of comic timing which can be hard to achieve but was done so well in this play. Emily Foxton was particularly effective at dropping comedy into the show either with speech or with facial expressions and gestures. Her performance as Lady Bracknell was flawless and I found myself focusing on her when she was onstage.

Algernon (Kim Whatmore) and Jack (Nathan Brocklebank) were portrayed well alongside each other, convincing as two young men with a blended history and an established relationship, both with an alibi in the form of a fictional character of their own creation. On paper these two characters should be considered pretty unpleasant, yet they come across as loveable rogues, and have some comedic moments alongside as well.

Harry French played both Lane and Merriman to perfection, adding some hilarious comedy sequences to the play. His stage time wasn’t the highest of the cast but every second definitely counted.

Nathan Brocklebank, Isha Chana and Ross Wayne

Annabel Bellew was well cast as Cecily, as was Zara Alleyne as Gwendolen. At first glance it would seem the “young attractive female” characters are complying with social expectations of the time, yet they are both strong females with their own opinions, which is interesting considering the year the play was written. It’s easy to develop some empathy for them as the play progresses, despite their puerile fixation on the appeal of a name. This is entirely down to their portrayal by the cast.

Miss Prism (Isha Chana) and Canon Chausable (Ross Wayne) were a joy to watch, not least because of the amusing entrances every time the Canon appeared, but also the chemistry between the characters was portrayed convincingly. I have to admit even writing this review I am finding it hard to not laugh at the thought of the Canon with his holy water, but also the lighting, music and direction during these and many other moments was just perfect. The spotlight on Jack while he was being “interviewed” by Lady Bracknell was another such time that the lighting brought the situation to life – adding an air of tension to the situation, but humour alongside it.

In fact there was a lot going on with the sound and lighting during this play - sound in this case including some of the props and costumes as well as recorded additions. It was a highly creative production with these elements and they definitely make the show accessible to a wider audience. The comedy was added with intelligent direction, using minimal props but also the characteristics of the cast themselves to great effect. Some of the comedic use of props/sound were so ridiculous to start with they were bordering on annoying, but with each of these things, with each occurrence, the more humourous it became. I had some proper laugh out loud moments watching this show and I was definitely not the only person in the audience who did.

The New Rep Theatre Company has been established to bring regular, affordable and accessible classical theatre to life. Their price structure is a testament to this goal, with “Pay what you can Friday” being introduced, alongside pre booking for the next show (from the programme) at a reduced price, concessions always available, and a very fair price at the top level.

I personally also really appreciate the fact that The New Rep schedule their shows to finish earlier than most, making travelling back to Oxfordshire less annoying than when I have to catch a stupidly late train. Thank you!

By the time you read this, the final show of this production will be over, but be sure to keep an eye out for the next shows from The New Rep. They are a talented and creative bunch, and I for one would watch almost anything they bring to the stage after seeing their first two shows.