The Importance of Being Earnest
Leeds Playhouse
 

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that The Importance of Being Earnest possesses some of the most famous aphorisms in the English language.

It’s therefore to director Denzel Westley-Sanderson’s credit that his production for English Touring Theatre manages to bring fresh life to Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people.”

Supported by a pop-up exhibition showing studio portraits of black Victorians — by London gallery Autograph — he uses the social satire to challenge stereotypes of the period.

His all-black cast is seen chafing against society’s upright and uptight mores with refreshing physicality, which contrasts the genteel world of cucumber sandwiches with characters lounging on the floor and chasing each other around the stage.

The action is framed within Lily Arnold’s set design, which effectively takes the photography exhibition on stage.

When manservant Lane (Valentine Hanson) pushes his head through an empty picture frame, he’s putting working-class life on the canvas.

Likewise, when the frames are later filled with colourised images of real-life black Victorians, their place in society is being reclaimed.

These light, modern touches continue with the play’s gender fluidity.

There’s a long tradition of casting Lady Bracknell in drag and here Daniel Jacob (aka Vinegar Strokes) plays the snobbish matriarch with a physically imposing presence.

More unusually, Dr Chasuble is played by a woman (Anita Reynolds), which offers a more inclusive take on the character’s secret romantic feelings for governess Miss Prism.

These updates are welcome but, ultimately, it’s the liveliness of the performances that make a lasting impression.

There are no weak links in the eight-person cast although special mention is deserved for Abiola Owokoniran as camp playboy Algernon, who charms the audience as he breaks the fourth wall, and Adele James as sexually assertive but pretentious Gwendolen.

Showing until September 17 2022 and then touring until November 12 2022.