“Wilde himself would have loved the modernisation of his play.”
On Thursday, I was cordially invited to watch the Student Theatre At Glasgow’s (STAG) performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. Quickly navigating my way through the queue, I found a seat and waited with immense expectation for the play to begin. After three acts and two intervals, I left having thoroughly injured my side laughing at the excellent execution of the jokes from Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece. I was confident that Wilde himself would have loved the modernisation of his play, with the great care that was taken by its cast and crew to maintain what makes the play a classic.
The cabaret theme gave a unique twist to the play that was refreshing allowing a story that I knew to take on a new life. It was this balance of new and old that made the play such a joy to watch. The constant expressions, mannerisms, and movements of the characters provided clear personalities and made every part of the stage a delight to watch, as characters in the background existed, and were not just placed in suspended animation, even when the metaphorical camera was not on them. That is not to say the centre of stage was ever boring, constant motion and excitement was given so that the actors and actresses were not just standing reciting lines at one another like a match of verbal tennis.
When the first act ended, I had the opportunity to talk to both directors, Emma Comfort and Will Gowling. We discussed conscious changes and continuity in the play. In terms of changes, the cabaret theme was a major element as well as the period aesthetic which coupled with the usage of modern music played by the live musicians reminded me of an authentically campy Bridgerton. Despite these modernisations, the play is incredibly faithful as both directors noted. The characters are the same as written when Wilde first penned them, though Emma and Will
admitted that for Cecily Crawford (and her daydreaming over the elusive Earnest), her obsession and characterisation is ramped up to max by the talented Artemis Asadivand — who is both ridiculous and amazing on the stage.
As I had been promised by the directors, the third act collided together the plots of the play in spectacular fashion with chaos rampant on the stage. The cast did a great job of allowing the plots to converge while also keeping the play on its feet, instead of buckling under the pressure. The performances by Alex Currie and Logan Rodgers as the leading men on the play have a wonderful dynamic together that thoroughly convinced me that they were Algernon and Jack. The opening introduction of Algernon himself was an effective way of displaying the audience every aspect of his character, from his charming arrogance to his musical abilities as Currie drew all eyes to his tongue-in-cheek piano performance (which may have been slightly aided by the band just off-stage).
All the cast and crew at STAG did an amazing job at bringing to life Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in an entertainingly witty way that delighted me, and the rest of the audience judging by the cheers. To simply put it, this would surely have been loved by Wilde. It was a great way to spend my evening and a great way to present a classic play with its cabaret twist which made it a totally unique experience, one that I wish I could have again.
