The truth is rarely pure and never simple, Oscar Wilde informs us in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility.
This is precisely the hook that director Peter Hall utilizes in the Theatre Royal Bath’s production of “Earnest,” which will run through March 5 at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Playwright Wilde reached the height of his success in the late 1800s with his society dramas. Above all, “Earnest” stands out as the most successful and acclaimed of his works and boasts a verbal repartee of unparalleled distinction.
Although “Earnest” is a mockery of the society that so deceitfully embraced and rejected him, Wilde bases his characters in truth and sincerity. It is this dichotomy that makes his play so enduring. He rejects using sentimentality to mirror the hypocritical presentation of “sentimentality” in society’s manners. As a result, the viewer is adequately confronted with a heightened image of the dual, insincere nature of the society we inhabit. And by challenging hypocrisy with sincere mockery, Wilde ensures the popularity of his plays and the everlasting sting of his tone.
But to attain the spontaneity and effortlessness needed to successfully portray this play is not an easy task. And in fact, Hall’s “Earnest” relies far too heavily on Wilde’s famous masterpiece of words to entertain the audience.
The beauty and brilliance of Wilde’s “Earnest” lies in its genuine basis in sincere human emotion and understanding. The latent tragedy in Wilde’s piece dwells in the emotional sincerity that stains the wordplay. Without this inherent emotional sincerity, the play becomes a trite reproduction of a verbal masterpiece, relying more on the reputation of the playwright than the skill of its actors.
The familiarity of “Earnest’s” dialogue is both a blessing and a curse. While the brilliant wordplay backs the production and has established Wilde’s work as a classic, it is essential that bold, new vivacity be central to its delivery. In this aspect, Hall’s production does not succeed. The cast falls short of such a display; the emotional reality never quite shines through in the actors’ performances.
“It is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy,” Wilde writes, “and it has its philosophy that we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.” Wilde’s words directly address the play that he considered to be his masterpiece. The extent of triviality in “Earnest” lies in its trivial portrayal of serious material. And, in turn, this triviality should be treated seriously.
The intricate wordplay of “Earnest” is not actively evaluated as a broadcast for social commentary; rather, it becomes a broadcast of Wilde’s cleverness. The famous lines of the play are presented to the audience with invigorating gusto; the production becomes an entertaining recital of Wilde’s famous and beloved witticisms. The actors deliver each infamous line with calculated knowledge of its effect; it stands not as a battle of wits and comedy of manners but a rolling recitation of brilliant lines. The words do not reveal a human element of spontaneity.
Although Theatre Royal Bath overwhelmingly relies on Wilde’s genius to carry the production, the great playwright’s commentary remains strongly relevant. The satire confronts issues and dramatics significant to today’s society and, even with this version’s lack of reality, the parody’s humor still abounds. Hall’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is delightfully hilarious and entertaining, but, I dare say, ironically lacking in earnestness.