Eastern Earnest

Here's a bit of insight on a new version of "The Importance of Being Earnest," done by an all-Asian, all-male cast.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" re-interpreted
By Serene Ong, channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: A revolutionary "W!ld" version of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", featuring an all-male cast, will be staged at the Drama Centre Theatre come March 25.

Credited as the gifted playwright's most widely performed play, the comedy of manners is cleverly constructed, replete with witty and deft repartees. Wilde – a somewhat social renegade in his day – ingeniously stripped the cloak of hypocrisy shrouding Victorian sensibilities with good natured droll humour, through an adventure of mixed identities.

In the play, Algernon Moncrief and his friend John Worthing both assume the name 'Ernest' to escape obligatory duties and to woo fair ladies, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. But as with all deceptions, their deed is eventually exposed and in its place, an important truth is uncovered.

Much attention has been placed on the fact that all the characters in the W!ld Rice production will be played by men in men's clothes. Director Glen Goei said: "This is the first time in the history of the play that it will be staged in this manner, as far as I know. It would have been boring to do it any other way."

Similarly, some past productions have tried to steer away from the well-trodden path by spicing up the 1895 play in various ways. In 2003, New York's Aquila Theatre Company gave it a contemporary overhaul, transposing the setting from the Victorian times to the 1970s. The role of Lady Bracknell – mother of Gwendolen Fairfax – has also often been played by a male actor in drag.

Asked about his take on W!ld Rice's new interpretation, Brendon Fernandez, who will be seen in the performance as Algernon, said: "There is a lot in Wilde's writing about the roles men and women play. For example, my character Algernon has quite a lot to say about what he perceives as the fundamental differences between men and women, or how he believes men and women should behave towards each other.

"For me, the most interesting aspect of the all-male cast is that it forefronts the idea of Gender as Performance... How much of being a man or a woman is intrinsic in us? And how much is learned, adopted or forced upon us by the idea of what is 'normal' in society? I don't think we'll find the definitive answers to these questions, but it will be great to hear what people in the audience think!"