It’s hard to imagine a better play than Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest for Ben Llewelyn and Jessie Anand to have chosen as the centrepiece for Lady Margaret Hall’s current Arts Week. Staged in the beautiful college grounds, the natural setting and low-key set works well, emphasising the centrality of performance and Wilde’s typically sparkling dialogue to the impact of the piece.
Wilde’s classic comedy of errors relies on strong characterisation and confident, well-paced delivery: enunciation and projection in particular are key to the success of the play’s outdoor performance. Nevertheless, Anouska Lester’s impressive period costume and full cast of props furnish the atmosphere of the intimate salon successfully.
All of the comic parts are played with flair and not a little Wildean camp, with Margaux Harris’ enthusiasm and idiosyncrasy in portraying Lady Bracknell’s setting a fine example to the rest of the cast throughout the show. Peter Beaumont’s sensitively interpreted, stiff upper lipped Jack and Caitlin McMillan’s Lady Fairfax share a tender onstage relationship and character is never dropped despite the appearance of ducks, ominous clouds and a chill wind.
Perhaps as a result of the cast’s evident consciousness of the necessity to speak loudly, a little of the conversational feel of the dialogue is lost, and more vocal modulation would serve the playful mood well.
Good use is made of LMH’s grounds, the play taking place in a judiciously chosen spot served by a convenient trellised backstage area. However, scenes tend to feel a little static; an upper class Victorian demeanour need not equate merely a crossed ankle, but a purposeful, theatrical equivalent to match the exaggerated, fantastical events of the play.
There is nothing quite like a good period drama, especially one of Wilde’s finest comic works, done well… Especially one with cucumber sandwiches, parasols and twinkling humour, for a summery Oxford afternoon.
Verdict: Certainly not a production of no importance.
