The Edinburgh Fringe smash-hit …Earnest? arrives at Malvern Theatres following rave reviews ahead of an eagerly awaited West End run.
When a traditional production of Oscar Wilde’s classic play gets underway, everything seems to be going perfectly to plan… that is, until the lead actor fails to arrive on cue and an actual audience member is chosen to star in the show.
What follows is a madcap medley of impromptu games and spontaneous solutions as the desperate director does his best to keep this faithful production going. But with stage whiskey being swapped, off-the-cuff auditions being held and muffins being eaten (no matter what state they’re in), there’s just no telling what this unique version of The Importance of Being Earnest is going to throw up. Especially when more audience members are drafted in to replace an ever-thinning cast… With the script ripped up and rewritten, can the show reach its fabulous finale, just as Oscar Wilde intended?
This one-of-a-kind comedy sensation is completely different, completely chaotic, and completely Wilde every single night. And who knows, you might even become a star yourself! Guaranteed to have you laughing whether you’re sitting in the audience… or performing onstage …Earnest? is perfect for fans of The Play That Goes Wrong and Noises Off!
“Get this on the West End now, please!” ★★★★★ – Lost in Theatreland
★★★★★ – Broadway Baby
★★★★★ – North West End
★★★★★ – The Skinny
Recommended Age: 12+
Running time: 2hrs 15mins (including 20min interval)
Hilarious. And the stand-in ‘actors’
were brilliant, especially ‘Earnest’. I went on Thursday.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Probably the cleverest, funniest and Wildest show you will see this year! And it’s largely down to the audience…
Back in 2019, a show called “The Importance of Being… Earnest?” was first conceived, before taking a dive in 2020, along with just about everything else, due to Covid. Now, after becoming a smash hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, the show, which comes from the “Say It Again, Sorry?” company, has been revamped with the much punchier title “…Earnest?” and is currently touring prior to a well-deserved West End run. And lucky old Malvern gets 4 days’ worth of performances (running until Sunday) with audiences pretty much guaranteed that every performance will be unique…
How so? Because after a potentially disastrous start where the actor down to play the all-important title role is missing, the audience comes to the rescue!
Cue audience member number one – Matthew – chosen by the show’s “director” Simon (Josh Haberfield) aided and abetted by his mainly silent stage manager Josh (Ben Mann). And this is where things begin to get interesting as the play now revolves around the one person who has never acted before and has no clue about what is about to unfold. As the show progresses, more cast members become incapacitated requiring more audience members to take part (and not just from the front row either). Using the technique of “Stand up if…” and “Stay standing if…”, we get someone who reckons he is a great kisser, we get a replacement pianist, Matthew has to identify two people where the sexual tension between them is evident (hilariously, this turns out to be two exes sitting together!) – in fact, by the end of the show, the entire cast has been replaced by audience members! Even Lady Bracknell who loses her voice and can barely whisper “A handbag” let alone give it the full force required is comically replaced by a giant of a man plucked randomly from the audience who still looks stunning in her elaborate dress.
And then there is the interval. Time to relax…or not. On stage, in a desperate attempt to flog some tat – sorry, show merchandise – Simon and Josh organise an auction and do actually manage to sell one shopping bag for twice the normal price, as long as it has been signed by Matthew and only after Josh has been encouraged to prance up and down displaying it as if on a catwalk!
The script, such as it is, gets ripped up and thrown away on numerous occasions and once, for the benefit of Matthew, the script is displayed on numerous placards held up by the audience, which proves to be where he completely loses it yet again, unable to read out what is written as he is justifiably in fits of laughter.
Whilst the show is most definitely a tour de force and has a large element of improvisation (the real actors simply do not know what the amateur actors are going to be like or how well they will perform), it must be somewhat disconcerting to know that the success of each show lies in the audience members who take part!
Luckily, Malvern took it to their hearts and responded accordingly, which must have been a relief to the cast, who were happy to chat to patrons in the foyer after the show. The cast are very perceptive too – early on, Matthew was asked what his favourite sone was. 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton was the reply. And the music that ended the show? That very same track… Though we will never know if they ventured to Ask Italian for a meal after show!