Drayton Arms Theatre Archives - Page 4 of 9

Th’Importance of Bein’ Earnest

Drayton Arms Theatre

Reviewed – 21st February 2019

★★★

“Though it may be a bit rough, this show is the sort of creative flare that keeps London theatre exciting”

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners set in London during the 1890s. In their adaptation, LKT Productions have jumped the play one hundred years forward and two hundred miles north, to a York council estate in the 1990s. It’s the same playtext transposed to a world completely opposite to the one it was intended for.

Placing words meant for Victorian aristocrats in modern working-class mouths is a fascinating experiment by directors Luke Adamson and Toby Hampton. Whether it works or not is debatable. On the one hand, hearing Wilde’s grandiose lines in northern accents was fresh and fun. Designer Rachael Ryan has done first-rate work creating an aesthetic completely counter to the original: the set involves graffitied walls and plastic patio furniture. The kiddie pool is a great touch. The costumes feature animal prints, gold leggings, bum bags, and very large hoop earrings.

On the other hand, most of the play doesn’t make sense in a working-class scenario. Wilde’s play is specifically, explicitly, a satire of upper-class society. Adamson and Hampton make slight alterations in attempt to adjust the context, but they’re fighting the script at every turn. A clever choice to make ‘cucumber sandwiches’ slang for cocaine saves one particular exchange. A few word substitutions (e.g. bus stop instead of carriage) save others. But ultimately it’s a losing fight. The servants don’t make sense – the attempt to pass them off as flatmates doesn’t work. Jokes about dinner parties don’t fit. The fact that Gwendolyn’s parents are ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ is something the production seems to shrug at. The play is caught between a genuine desire for its characters to be working class, and surrendering to an alternate universe where lords and ladies wear joggers and speak in thick Yorkshire accents.

Despite the muddled world, the characters themselves relocate surprisingly well to a council estate. Heather Dutton as Gwendolyn and Millie Gaston as Cecily shine in particular. Translating the refined but fierce Gwendolyn to Dutton’s ‘won’t-take-shit’, ‘will-fight-you’ Gwendolyn works brilliantly. Gaston, in scrunchie and tracksuit, wonderfully brings out the snarky teenager in Cecily. There’s a lot that’s really smart about this wild reimagining.

The comedy though wasn’t quite at standard. I’ve witnessed certain lines take down the house in previous performances that simply passed by in this one. Lady Bracknell (Kitty Martin) has some of the funniest lines in the play, but many of them failed to land. There’s also an unfortunate choice to keep Lane and Merriman (both James King) in the scenes as silent background comedy. King’s physical jokes distract from the words, which is a shame, because King stuffing newspaper in his ears will never be as funny as Wilde’s lines.

LKT deserve all the props for their boldness in turning Wilde’s classic upside-down. Though it may be a bit rough, this show is the sort of creative flare that keeps London theatre exciting.

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography by Cam Harle

Th’Importance of Bein’ Earnest

Drayton Arms Theatre until 23rd February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Are There Female Gorillas? | ★★★★ | April 2018

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | ★★★★ | May 2018

No Leaves on my Precious Self | ★★ | July 2018

The Beautiful Game | ★★★ | August 2018

Love, Genius and a Walk | ★ | October 2018

Out of Step | ★★ | January 2019

The Problem With Fletcher Mott | ★★★ | February 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

★★★

“in the main, the energy and talent of the performers was this show’s other great strength”

The Problem with Fletcher Mott began its life at Goldsmiths College, and premiered last year at the Tristan Bates. It is being presented over two nights at The Drayton Arms as a work in progress, to garner audience feedback; this review is written with that in mind.

The musical is the brain child of Jack Miles – writer of the book, music and lyrics – who also plays a mean guitar in the wonderfully tight three man band. Music is clearly the driver here, and is, most emphatically, the strongest weapon in Mr. Miles’ armoury; there are some terrific songs in this piece. He is at his best as a composer in the high-energy numbers such as The Concept and The Power of the Pen, and he clearly relishes fast and furious W.S.Gilbert-like lyrical frenzy – present throughout, but particularly in evidence in The Headache, a herculean feat of articulation, splendidly sung by Lucy Ogilvie as Angela. The slower numbers are less successful, and the show really loses energy in the second half. The final three songs are pretty lacklustre and it seems a great shame to finish with The Apology, which is the weakest number of all.

The book is, unfortunately, a far cry from the standard of the music, both in terms of the plot itself, and the spoken interludes. The main character, the hapless Fletcher Mott, is not sufficiently interesting for the audience to be fully invested in; nor are the stakes of his situation sufficiently high. He is a non-descript writer, who fails to write a play; ultimately, what does it matter? The show’s padding consists mostly of incredibly broad comedy, which comes across as strangely dated in such a contemporary piece. Being asked to laugh at ‘yobbos’ in baseball caps talking like middle class academics seemed almost offensively retro, as did the tourists sketch. It all seemed faintly juvenile, as did the badly written swearing. Lines like ‘You’ve got a shitload of shit writing to shit’ brought the professionalism of the enterprise right down, and suddenly the cast seemed like a bunch of silly teenagers out to shock. It jarred every time, as, in the main, the energy and talent of the performers was this show’s other great strength.

Although the character of Fletcher’s inner critic was never entirely convincing, Rose Dickson sang with strength, sass and clarity throughout, and Hugh Train’s wonderfully energetic performance as Dan was a treat, culminating in his fabulous rendition of The Writer’s Mind in the second half. The ensemble singing was always on point, and all the performers fully committed to the work, which drove the show forward even in its duller or more ridiculous moments.

The Problem with Fletcher Mott feels like a talented musical theatre composer flexing his muscles. We will definitely be hearing more from Jack Miles, but Fletcher feels like a stepping stone. It might be an idea to collaborate on the writing too; to release a bit of creative control, allow another voice in, and see where that takes him. Watch this space.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Rosalind Steven

Drayton Arms Theatre

Reviewed – 21st February 2019

★★★

“Though it may be a bit rough, this show is the sort of creative flare that keeps London theatre exciting”

LKT deserve all the props for their boldness in turning Wilde’s classic upside-down. Though it may be a bit rough, this show is the sort of creative flare that keeps London theatre exciting.

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography by Cam Harle

Th’Importance of Bein’ Earnest

Drayton Arms Theatre until 23rd February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Drayton Arms Theatre

Reviewed – 17th February 2019

★★★

“in the main, the energy and talent of the performers was this show’s other great strength”

The Problem with Fletcher Mott began its life at Goldsmiths College, and premiered last year at the Tristan Bates. It is being presented over two nights at The Drayton Arms as a work in progress, to garner audience feedback; this review is written with that in mind.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Rosalind Steven

The Problem With Fletcher Mott

Drayton Arms Theatre

Previously reviewed at this venue: