The Importance of Being Earnest
Review
Among HumDrum AmDram's declared aims is to present acclaimed works in a new light - which presents a problem when the company chooses to stage a classic like this.
What can they possibly do to Oscar Wilde's comedy? Truth to tell, artistic directos Psu Boyne and James George do not tamper over-much with what Wilde called a 'trivial comedy for serious people'.
Besides, inspired touches such as the comic mileage extracted from butler Merriman's squeaky shoes add to the entertainment value.
What you still remember is Wilde's witty dialogue, as the double lives of Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing are unmasked.
As Lady Bracknell, Tina Sturgeon radiates sourness and hostility. She copes with the famous exclamation 'A handbag!' by declaring the remark after being reduced to a catatonic state by her future son-in-law's revelations that he was abandoned in such a recepacle at Victoria Station.
Roy Wilcox contributes a wonderfully vague Canon Chasuable, pursued around the garden by Gladys Wilcox's prim Miss Prism.
The Production may not shed much new light on Wilde's classic, but it's great fun all the same.
Steve Pratt - The Portsmouth News - Tuesday 4th February '97
