By Karen Aney (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 14, 2012
Anytime a great piece of work is performed, it’s with some trepidation. For instance, the makers of Across the Universe had some big shoes to fill – The Beatles are beloved, and the audience knows when they’re not being given justice. When a local performing arts group is performing such a well-known play—Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest—the same grandiose expectations put the production at risk. However, Gallery 7’s production at MEI pulled it off beautifully.
Waiting for the show to begin, the audience has time to take in the set. It’s wonderfully designed and thoroughly professional in appearance: the scrolling white cut-outs and doors were a perfect balance for the three different scenes, and did a great job looking like a viable backdrop for the outdoors, a fancy London home, and a sprawling country manor. The remainder of the set, from the furniture to the china, was carefully selected and coherent – nothing detracted from the performance, which was ideal.
The costume design, an area that is so often overlooked, was exquisite. Some items appeared to be store-bought, but others—namely the dresses that were so perfectly tailored to the female characters—seemed clearly created for this show and the actresses wearing them. If not, the selection, from what is surely an extensive costume collection, was apt and pleasing. More important than the garments themselves, though, were the small details: items like peacock feathers sprouting from Lady Bracknell’s hat and a slightly rumpled, seemingly hand-made shawl for Miss Prism demonstrated an attention to detail that was not lost on the audience.
Any lighting and sound in the play was either minimal or so well-chosen that they didn’t stand out at all; juxtaposed with the overt sensual stimulation in films of today, this was a welcome change. Everything that went into the play represented extensive thought and training. The only shortcomings came from the performers.
To be fair, the shortcomings were few and far between. The biggest complaint, perhaps, is that the actors sometimes slipped in and out of their accents. Further, their accents didn’t seem to match that of their fellow performers: it could be that they were perfectly emulating the different accents that would befit those who lived in town and those who did not, but to the untrained ear it seemed merely inconsistent. Again, this happened rarely, but enough to be jarring at times.
Two performers didn’t falter from their accents once: Ruth Kult, who played Lady Bracknell, and Michael McIntyre, who played Algernon Moncrieff. Kult embodied her character amazingly well: everything was laughably accurate, from the “fashionable” tilt of her chin to the slight wrinkle of derision when something displeased her. In my view, the one fault with her character, though perhaps not widely-shared, is that Lady Bracknell should be slightly aged and perhaps not quite so attractive – this would enhance the character, showing that she’s controlling so much of other people’s lives because she doesn’t have much left to control with her own. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), Kult looked just a bit too young and a bit too attractive to be a perfect casting decision. Yes, this is one aspect of live theatre – but it can be addressed through make-up and costuming. Given the attention to detail, it’s possible that the crew did not share my opinion, but it was distracting.
McIntyre, playing Algernon, was flawless. His accent was perfectly delivered, and his comedic timing was perfect. He was a bright spot in the play and served to keep the audience engaged through sometimes arduous monologues and dialogues. The volume of his stage-voice was also extremely well-done; this seems like a small point to mention, but his ability to project his voice without faltering in his enunciation or appearing to be straining was admirable.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for some of his cast members. For instance, though I sat in the second row of the relatively large theatre, Kirstie Hilverda’s lines as Cecily Cardew were sometimes indiscernible. Sarah Hu—perhaps the worst for slipping out of her accent—was another performer with this fault.
However, despite their shortcomings in terms of volume, Hu and Hilverda enhanced their overall performance through their interactions with each other. Though some of the humour needs to be attributed to the script, their transitions from smiling hatred to inseparable bond and back again were the embodiment of hilarity and completely realistic.
Overall, going to see the play is definitely well-worth the money. Remaining shows for The Importance of Being Earnest are March 15 – 17 and 22 – 24 at 7: 30 p.m. with a discounted 2 p.m. matinee on March 17.
