The Importance of Being Earnest
Mar. 16th, 2026 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
witchpoetdreamerWife and I watched the play yesterday on the National Theatre Youtube Channel (it's available for free for a fundraiser for 3 more days I believe). I've been wanting to watch it since seeing a few clips with Ncuti Gatwa being his charming, openly gay self. But I don't think it hit quite right.
First of, what I really liked: the decor. They were really well made and I really enjoyed looking at their details during the play. Except that awful green grass that turned everybody green (especially Ncuti, he looked sick during that part). I think most actors did a good job with the roles they've been given, and they got me to chuckle more than a few times. That being said, I don't think the direction choices were that great.
I think the main thing about this play is that, when you read it as is, it's really funny. You can play it with a straight face and it's going to be even funnier for it. But for this play, they decided to emphasizes the comic tone by making the actors do eye contact with the audience, pause for laughs doing silly faces and speak with over exaggerated accents.
Here, for example: the character of Gwendolen is said to be flirty towards Earnest. The actress was directed (or chose, I don't know) to leave the room at one point and growl in Earnest's direction like a cat in heat. Cecilia's manner of speech is ditzy, she is supposed to be 18 but sounds like a 12 years old pretending to be an adult. I think the actors playing Earnest and Lady Bracknell were my favourite overall because they both played their roles in a more serious way, which made them more funny overall for it (even when Earnest would break the fourth wall). And Ncuti... Oh Ncuti... I love him, but I'm beginning to fear that he typecasted himself. I haven't yet seen everything he's in (I haven't watched his season of Doctor Who, although I've seen the first episode and the special where Tennant becomes Gatwa), but I have watched all of Sex Education, and now this, and it feels like I've watched the same character, just with different names. On one hand, of course I want to see him, I love his energy and his charm, and he's definitely important representation for people out there. And I know he's capable of acting more seriously from Sex Education too. But also, I would love to see him as something other than the gay flirty best friend. I want to see his range! And hey, if he actually likes the typecast, good for him too, I certainly won't hold it against him. His joy is infectious, and deeply necessary. But ya, more range from him would be lovely.
Another thing I felt ambiguous about was the choices of songs for the play. It's not a musical at all, but we've got renditions of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Marry You by Bruno Mars on the piano, and You're Beautiful by James Blunt when both men are trying to apologize for their actions to Gwen and Cecilia. That, combined with the opening strip tease and the ending mardi gras carnival (?), it felt like the director wanted the play to be super camp... but didn't commit fully. If anything, Ncuti was carrying the camp on his shoulders alone, while the rest of the crew either played more seriously, or just try to be camp and failed.
Overall, I think the only thing I can come up with to describe how this whole thing felt is White Millenial Queer. I don't know if it makes sense, but it's the whole vibe. It's trying to be Rent, but with Oscar Wilde's words. It's colourful and openly queer, trying to be camp but too traditional to truly commit. And it's sad, really, not because I'm a purist of Wilde's words (I certainly didn't like the way he wrote about women), but because it just failed at whatever it was trying to do.
True, I was entertained, and I laughed a few times, and I realized at the end I've never read the play in full because what in the cliche'd ending was that? (Yes, I realize that, given the age of the play, it might not have been cliche back then). But also, I'm very glad I got to watch it for free, because if I had paid for my seat, I would have been really disappointed.
First of, what I really liked: the decor. They were really well made and I really enjoyed looking at their details during the play. Except that awful green grass that turned everybody green (especially Ncuti, he looked sick during that part). I think most actors did a good job with the roles they've been given, and they got me to chuckle more than a few times. That being said, I don't think the direction choices were that great.
I think the main thing about this play is that, when you read it as is, it's really funny. You can play it with a straight face and it's going to be even funnier for it. But for this play, they decided to emphasizes the comic tone by making the actors do eye contact with the audience, pause for laughs doing silly faces and speak with over exaggerated accents.
Here, for example: the character of Gwendolen is said to be flirty towards Earnest. The actress was directed (or chose, I don't know) to leave the room at one point and growl in Earnest's direction like a cat in heat. Cecilia's manner of speech is ditzy, she is supposed to be 18 but sounds like a 12 years old pretending to be an adult. I think the actors playing Earnest and Lady Bracknell were my favourite overall because they both played their roles in a more serious way, which made them more funny overall for it (even when Earnest would break the fourth wall). And Ncuti... Oh Ncuti... I love him, but I'm beginning to fear that he typecasted himself. I haven't yet seen everything he's in (I haven't watched his season of Doctor Who, although I've seen the first episode and the special where Tennant becomes Gatwa), but I have watched all of Sex Education, and now this, and it feels like I've watched the same character, just with different names. On one hand, of course I want to see him, I love his energy and his charm, and he's definitely important representation for people out there. And I know he's capable of acting more seriously from Sex Education too. But also, I would love to see him as something other than the gay flirty best friend. I want to see his range! And hey, if he actually likes the typecast, good for him too, I certainly won't hold it against him. His joy is infectious, and deeply necessary. But ya, more range from him would be lovely.
Another thing I felt ambiguous about was the choices of songs for the play. It's not a musical at all, but we've got renditions of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Marry You by Bruno Mars on the piano, and You're Beautiful by James Blunt when both men are trying to apologize for their actions to Gwen and Cecilia. That, combined with the opening strip tease and the ending mardi gras carnival (?), it felt like the director wanted the play to be super camp... but didn't commit fully. If anything, Ncuti was carrying the camp on his shoulders alone, while the rest of the crew either played more seriously, or just try to be camp and failed.
Overall, I think the only thing I can come up with to describe how this whole thing felt is White Millenial Queer. I don't know if it makes sense, but it's the whole vibe. It's trying to be Rent, but with Oscar Wilde's words. It's colourful and openly queer, trying to be camp but too traditional to truly commit. And it's sad, really, not because I'm a purist of Wilde's words (I certainly didn't like the way he wrote about women), but because it just failed at whatever it was trying to do.
True, I was entertained, and I laughed a few times, and I realized at the end I've never read the play in full because what in the cliche'd ending was that? (Yes, I realize that, given the age of the play, it might not have been cliche back then). But also, I'm very glad I got to watch it for free, because if I had paid for my seat, I would have been really disappointed.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-17 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-17 06:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-17 06:04 am (UTC)I can totally understand how it wouldn't work for some people, and I'm sorry that was the case for you.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-17 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-17 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-18 04:48 am (UTC)