By Freyja Hollington
‘Well, I cannot watch a drama in an agitated manner.’
When Oscar Wilde took up the charge of presenting the social, he did so through the lens of satiric enjoyment. The unnecessary niceties and rules of manners that Wilde saw as both hypocrisy and absurdity poured forth into his characters and have created a drama that continues to hold resonance. Whatever distance we so wishfully place between ourselves and contemporary nineteenth century audiences, it is undeniable that the tangled web of silent social scriptures that Wilde exposed remains steadfast and unshakeable today. English hypocrisy need only be observed in the unspoken rigidity of orderly queueing everywhere except the pub, where the chaotic push toward the bartender seems to acknowledge how easily we forget ourselves in the pursuit of pleasure.
This essence of Oscar Wilde, his smirking dialogue and satirized stage, are so perfectly encapsulated by Sam Bentley’s direction of The Importance of Being Earnest with the Durham University Classical Theatre Company. The usual anxieties that accompany any theatregoer upon taking the stairs to their small – and not always too comfortable – seat melt away, as the world of Wilde unravels before them. The sword of dread which hovers at the inhale of a performance is swiftly lost, replaced by the thrill of anticipation that this will be brilliant. From the very moment the curtain lifts, the company achieves precision in the balance between the comic and the biting.
Opening the performance as perhaps the clearest mouthpiece for Wilde himself, the hedonistic bachelor and gad-about Algernon Moncrieff is central to the establishment of tone. In the hands of the talented Cillian Knowles, Algernon, and indeed the play itself, comes to life. Knowles’ first steps onto the stage are masterful, as his physicality conveys that which we have yet to learn but begin already to know. Amplified by the brilliance of costuming, Knowles as Algernon epitomises the freedom of carelessness in a system built upon self-criticism and self-regulation. Undone, almost naked, and embellished with the wisps of a lavish silk gown, Knowles saunters through the set toward audiences. In a striking moment of dramatic vision, the production utilises a transition into diegetic sound, as the playful music accenting Knowles’ appearance becomes the jovial and light-hearted melody of his own playing. The piano, as a recognisable symbol of higher social class and elevation, under the blithe and undisciplined hands of Algernon, becomes the image of social subversion that is definitive of the wider play.
As his counterpart, the polarised figure of Jack (Earnest) Worthing enters the stage from the opposite wing and is, from the first, the antithesis of Algernon. Introduced in perfection of style, speech and posture, Jack, played by the sensational Edward Clark, illuminates the extent of Algernon’s individualism, whilst also conveying the sheer impossibilities of upholding social expectation. Dressed likewise in perfect costume, Clark enters in a sensible tweed three-piece suit, standing stately and self-possessed, in the shadow of his friend’s previous exposure. Where Knowles’ physicality is instrumental to his characterisation, Clark’s performance of Jack is centred in his control of voice. Always elegantly and clearly spoken, Clark’s Jack presents the nearest facsimile to respectability that Wilde, and indeed any individual, could achieve.
It is not an uncommon critique of Wilde that his construction of character falls slightly in his presentation of women, and while The Importance of Being Earnest perhaps weakens itself by the balance of genders in the play, the central women of this production are unmissable. As the intended ‘Jack’ of the women set, Miranda Pharoah’s Gwendolen Fairfax emerges as a personification of contradiction itself. Emulating the sincere self-importance and charming arrogance of Gwendolen, Pharoah’s performance is perfection. Upstanding, self-possessed, and decisive, Pharoah’s Gwendolen returns something of autonomy to the women of Wilde, as the production teases out their greater conflicts of desire and duty, past and present. Pharoah is joined on stage by the entertaining and evocative performance of Roxy Rayward as Cecily Cardew. Rayward is expression itself, alert and receptive in every moment of stage presence, speaking or silent. The brilliance of the wider company to play off one another is epitomised in Rayward, who never parts from Cecily for a single moment throughout.
In the character of Lady Bracknell, Molly Bell transforms, speaking as the old voice of England and the origins of etiquette and decorum. Likewise enhanced by the genuine thought and construction of costume within the production, Bell presents the tenuous and flitting grasp that social expectation holds upon itself – never quite solidified, but always conscious of its indispensability. Bell, as Lady Bracknell, becomes intriguingly paralleled in the supporting character of Miss Prism, richly characterised by Olivia Fancourt. Where Lady Bracknell esteems the system through her own superiority therein, Miss Prism’s unflinching dedication to the same notions of order and behaviour interrogate the (dis)advantages of obedience. In her implicit and tactfully conveyed love for the Reverend Canon Chasuble, vividly realised by Noah Lazarides, Fancourt’s Miss Prism questions the benefits for those that adhere to the system; further explored in Henry Skinner’s persuasive performance as the servant figures of Lane and Merriman.
What the Durham University Classical Theatre Company has achieved in their production of The Importance of Being Earnest is nothing short of remarkable. There is a fine attention to detail and finesse of set, costume and sound, which only intensifies the brilliance of the cast. The dedication of the company to this creation is evident in every element, and the love and loyalty of DUCT to their performance is palpable. As one of the strongest student performances held in Durham, The Importance of Being Earnest will be remembered and treasured fondly and often by audiences for years.
Image Credit – Durham University Classical Theatre