Ben Apfelbaum

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST @ ROSLYN PACKER THEATRE

Helen Thomson , in Sydney Theatre Company’s The Importance of Being Earnest , 2023 . Photo: Daniel Boud

The Sydney Theatre Company has produced a sparkling  production of Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.

The tale of two rich and spoilt bachelors and their pursuit of their loves Gwendolen and Cecily through needless deception, all overseen by the acid tongued Lady Bracknell can be viewed on a number of levels. Firstly it can be viewed as a Comedy Of Manners. filled with Wilde’s brilliant  witticisms. Secondly it can be seen as a battle of the sexes with the women outwitting the men. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is an attack on the hypocrisy and  shallow moral values of Victorian society. Does this sound framiliar regarding today’s society?

The characters value style over substance, insensitivity over kindness and a complete indifference or contempt for the lower classes.

An example of this vacuousness is exemplified when Gwendolen finds out that sugar is unfashionable and bread and butter is more suitable for the upper classes.  When Gwendolen is served sugared tea and cake she is throughly scandalised.

This is a handsome, lavish production, enhanced by gorgeous sets by Charles Davis which also play a comical role. The cleverness of the set is also on display when  three quarters of the stage emphasises the wealth and opulence of the upper class in contrast to the paucity of  the domestic staff’s  conditions and the wretchedness of their slave like lives.

Another example of the lusciousness of this show are the dazzling  costumes by Renee Mulder. Lady Bracknell’s costumes are  reminiscent of Cecil Beaton’s in the ‘My Fair Lady’ Ascot scene, except that  Lady Bracknell’s hyped up to the max, as if all the frills and layers with their garish colours are on steroids.

Everything about this producton is traditional, authentic Victoriana. In contrast, composer and sound designer Stefan Gregory effectively delineates scenes and moods by his use of such musical  numbers as Dolly Parton’s  ‘Nine to Five’ and Enya’s ‘Orinoco Flow’.

Helen Thomson as Lady Bracknell amplifies her wild, acidic wit and clever bon mots. Her facial gestures and flouncing around in her ridiculous costumes magnifies her role to great effect. It is in her character we see how ridiculous the values that she cherishes are the most flawed and idiotic.

Brandon McLelland as a blundering and clumsy John Worthing, one of the swains,  uses the great physicality of his performance to infuse a good deal of humour in his character.

His opponent/friend Algernon Moncrieff is played by Charles Wu  who brings a sly, elegant  almost creepy dimension  to his character,  yet also a vulnerability when he falls deeply  in love with  Cecily Cardew (John Worthing’s ward).

Megan Wilding  is a knockout as Gwendolyn Fairfax, Lady Bracknell’s imperious daughter. She uses her costume and gestures to great comedic effect and enunciates Wilde’s lines as if she has consumed a delicious food morsel, She wrings every bit of juice out of Wilde’s satire.

Melissa Kahraman as Cecily Cardew effectively displays the vanity of youth whilst tempering it by her love of rural life.

Wilde, like Shakespeare ,complements his cast with minor but striking characters.

Bruce Spence plays Reverend Canon Chasuble who seeks to suppress hs yearning for Miss Prism with a veneer of idiotic celibacy. Spence always brings gravitas and humour to every role he plays and this is no exception.

Lucia Mastrantone is both spinsterish and harsh as Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism, yet is coquettish and flirty in her pursuit of Reverend Canon Chasuble,  amplifying the background humour. She bridges the duality of her character with ease.

Special mention must be made of the servants who are treated with callous indifference, yet show a baffling deference to their masters/mistresses.

Leading this band of underclass servants is a very funny Sean O’Shea  as  suicidal manservant Lane, whilst Gareth Davies as Merriman the Butler weaves and writhes around his ‘betters’ with skill and aplomb.

Sarah Giles as the director brings the paradoxes of Wilde – his.monstorous but loveable characters, the  promotion of valueless belief, the apparent approval of insincerity and  a poor education, are all coalesced in to a triumphant, dazzling production.

The utter joy with which we view the skewering of Victorian society is tempered by the knowledge of the persecution of Wilde to inhumane depths, which today we view as abhorrent.

A subtle acknowledgement of the gay Oscar Wilde is referenced in a scene in the play. In its own way it is sort of a tribute.

The Sydney Theatre Company production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is playing the Roslyn Packer Theatre until the 14th October 2023.

Featured image : Brandon McClelland,Gareth Davies, Sean O’Shea, Charles Wu in Sydney TheatreCompany’sThe Importance of Being Earnest, 2023. Production photography by Daniel Boud

https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.