Tag Archives: Philip Tull

The Importance of Being Earnest
★★★★

Watermill Theatre

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Watermill Theatre

Reviewed – 27th May 2019

★★★★

 

“an inventive new take on an old favourite”

 

Should we care about ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’? Oscar Wilde’s best-known play about misplaced identities was written at the height of his fame. His brilliant wit shines in every scene and the piece features that line about a piece of left luggage that is probably as much quoted as ‘to be or not to be’.

The Watermill’s new production partly attempts to prove its relevance by setting the play in a contemporary apartment, which is all dull grey minimalism, and in the opening scene, decorated with a road traffic cone. It’s the kind of achingly trendy place that’s all concealed doors and cupboards, with a big Morris wallpaper feature wall, which in Sally Ferguson’s lighting design is cleverly lit to match the mood. At the start of the play the set seemed simply incongruous, lacking the glitz that might be expected of a London socialite’s pad. Weirdly, the cups are paper and the plates foil, a kind of knowing send-up that seemed just odd in the first half, but made perfect sense in the second when the play takes a surreal turn. The almost empty apartment does however come complete with a fully-liveried butler, played with glassy-eyed determination by the impressive Morgan Philpott. He begins and ends the show, as well as sustaining a crowd-pleasingly clever running gag throughout it that calls for the most impeccable timing.

So the scene is set for an inventive new take on an old favourite, as much beloved of amateur productions as it is of countless high profile cinema and stage versions. The lead, Algernon, is played by a splendidly gangling Peter Bray (RSC and the Globe). Wilde seems to have put most of himself into this ‘Bunburying’ young fop who gets some of the best lines. Bray more than rises to the challenge. As Jack, Benedict Salter is also excellent. In a splendid piece of direction by the very inventive Kate Budgen, Bray and Salter perform a kind of mad pas-de-deux to a Liszt piano concerto in a scene about muffins. ‘I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them’. Much has been written about the gay sub-text, in a play which was written when to be ‘earnest’ was to be gay. What with the Bunburying and cucumbers for ready money, it certainly doesn’t lack in innuendo, and this was nicely handled in this production.

Both young men and their female opposite numbers, Gwendolen (Claudia Jolly) and Cecily (Charlotte Beaumont), are splendidly dressed in period costumes. Wilde’s young women may be trapped in a suffocating Victorian system where a woman’s marriage is more about money than love, but his characters shine in these interpretations. Charlotte Beaumont in particular has a kind of winningly mad insistence, that in the second half almost took the play into Lewis Carroll territory.

And what of Lady Bracknell’s ‘handbag’ line, so famously delivered with ringing disdain by Edith Evans, then whispered by Maggie Smith in a role also played by Judi Dench and even David Suchet? Connie Walker certainly brings the ‘gorgon’ to life in her commanding interpretation. Wendy Nottingham makes a suitably dowdy Miss Prism, and Jim Creighton is a satisfying Dr Chasuble.

‘To be born, or at any rate bred, in a hand-bag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of modern life that reminds one of the worst excesses of the French Revolution’. Just for lines like this, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is more than worth the price of a ticket. This fresh and inventive new production at the Watermill makes it more than doubly so.

 

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by Philip Tull

 


The Importance of Being Earnest

The Watermill Theatre until 29th June

 

 

The Watermill Theatre – winner of our 2018 Awards – Best Regional Theatre

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
The Rivals | ★★★★★ | March 2018
Burke & Hare | ★★★★ | April 2018
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | ★★★★ | May 2018
Jerusalem | ★★★★★ | June 2018
Trial by Laughter | ★★★★ | September 2018
Jane Eyre | ★★★★ | October 2018
Robin Hood | ★★★★ | December 2018
Murder For Two | ★★★★ | February 2019
Macbeth | ★★★ | March 2019
Amélie | ★★★★★ | April 2019

 

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

 

Robin Hood
★★★★

Watermill Theatre

Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Watermill Theatre

Reviewed – 1st December 2018

★★★★

“The lyrics are so cringeworthy and bad that they are good, and they set the comedic tone of this caper perfectly”

 

If you wind your way down country lanes just outside Newbury, then run a gauntlet of ducks, you will discover tucked away in the Berkshire countryside is a quirky little theatre called The Watermill. Sitting alongside the River Lambourn it retains many of its original architectural features – some of which are very visible in the theatre itself. It is a unique and charming set-up.

This year’s Christmas production is a modern take on Robin Hood. If you thought you knew the story, then you are likely to be very confused. Written by children’s poet and novelist, Laura Dockrill, the plot is both simple and bizarre. The six-strong troupe of actor-musicians gamely bring us this bonkers romp. Robin (Georgia Bruce) is reimagined as a punky girl, and she is joined by her band of Merry Many, who are dressed as Boy Scouts. Little John (Daniel Copeland) has an in-depth knowledge of baked beans, and Alan-a-Dale (Leander Deeny) is permanently sloshed.

The original songs come from Hugo White, of The Maccabees, and have a rocky edge. The music is performed by the actors on stage, and is weaved into the storyline to great effect. Largely driven by guitar and drums, the use of squeaky kazoos and a descant recorder serve to remind us that this is definitely a show for children. The lyrics are so cringeworthy and bad that they are good, and they set the comedic tone of this caper perfectly.

Maid Marion (Stephanie Hockley) is a hippy chick who likes to knit, and it turns out she doesn’t really like Robin Hood – although she is even less keen on The Sheriff of Nottingham (Leander Deeny). If Alan Partridge and Rik Mayall had a love-child, then Deeny’s Sheriff would be him: an outstanding performance that had the audience in stitches. He cuts a ridiculous villain, whose insults are strange compliments – and his most heinous of crimes is being a terrible musician.

It’s absurd and rambling, but at the same time hugely enjoyable. My young companion had a lovely time, wanting to go again and take his brother, which is a strong recommendation. Its originality makes it appealing, and while the tale might be a familiar one, this take has given it something new.

 

Reviewed by Emma Gradwell

Photography by Philip Tull

 


Robin Hood

Watermill Theatre until 5th January

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Teddy | ★★★★★ | January 2018
The Rivals | ★★★★★ | March 2018
Burke & Hare | ★★★★ | April 2018
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | ★★★★ | May 2018
Jerusalem | ★★★★★ | June 2018
Trial by Laughter | ★★★★ | September 2018
Jane Eyre | ★★★★ | October 2018

 

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