The Importance of Being Earnest, The Vaudeville Theatre, London

Rating: ***/5

Thursday, 7 February 2008.

Those expecting a revolutionary new production of The Importance of Being Earnest ought to stop reading now, because it ain't happening. 

Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners, featuring some of the most frequently quoted lines of dialogue in the history of drama, is a piece that's performed perhaps all too frequently on English stages. And there is a list the size of a phonebook of grand dames who've taken time out of their film and TV schedules to tread the boards as Lady Bracknell, so what makes this production a cut above the rest?

Not much.

Penelope Keith, most known for her role on Britcom To the Manor Born, turns in a perfectly decent performance here as Lady Bracknell, subverting the tradition of hamming it up for her big line ("A handbag?") and providing the right comedic center for the ensemble cast.

The play, which has sometimes been seen as an allegory for repressed 19th century sexuality, is played entirely "straight," as it were, its references to "Bunburying" (see the play to find out) left as ambiguous as could be. Those who are looking for subtexts will find them, but director Peter Gill will leave it up to you, thank you very much.

Special mention ought to go to Rebecca Night, who is sweetly subversive as ingenue Cecily Cardew, and to Harry Hadden-Patton, with a perky upturned nose that's perfect for the role of John Worthing -- or is his name really John?

Though Daisy Haggard hams it up as Gwendolen Fairfax and mars a bit of the ensemble dynamic, for the most part the cast serves the play well and the play goes on without a hitch.

I hadn't seen Earnest before, so, to me, this production was worth seeing. A chance to see Wilde on stage -- though frequent enough -- is almost always rewarding at least for its comedy. And this troupe does a fine job with the material they're given. So, if you're not yet tired of Earnest, this one's an earnest bet. But otherwise, browse the boards -- maybe there's another writer waiting in the wings to succeed Wilde in wit and timing. You never know, eh?