Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 30th March 2025
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
5*****
A handbag!!!!! Yes, we all know this wonderful story, Oscar Wilde’s finest moment, but this version has some unexpected surprises.
Set in genteel society, Gwendoline has her heart set upon marrying someone called Earnest and, luckily, there’s a handsome eligible bachelor of that name to hand. Much hilarity ensues when the motley cast of proper upper class misfits attempt to navigate the social mores of the time, not always successfully.
Official cast members Terry (Guido Garcia Lueches playing Algernon) and Graham (Rhys Tees) launched the show with gusto and introduced the central premise masterfully. Watching them repeat the opening scene with slight, “unwanted” variations set the scene beautifully. Like The Play That Goes Wrong, the carefully prepared production soon begins to fray at the edges when the leading actor (playing Earnest) fails to show. This slight inconvenience is neatly negotiated by Director Simon Slough (Josh Haberfield) recruiting a willing audience member. Tonight’s Earnest was Matthew from the front row. And what a fabulous job he did! A confident entrance was followed by a spirited joining in and some delicious corpsing along the way.
Jennifer (Trynity Silk playing Gwendolen) and Eleanor (Judith Amsenga as Lady Bracknell) were both exceptional, making their new leading man’s entry to the thespianic realm as seamless as impossible. It’s hard to give examples of the nature of the hilarity without giving gags away and spoiling things…
Josh (Ben Mann) was the foil for our Director and a massive hit with the audience. He tried manfully to hold everything together with much running to and fro and was largely mute – beautifully conveying much with a facial expression and body language in a comedy acting masterclass. His on stage interactions with Director Simon made a particularly effective double act – especially during the “interval” merch stall debacle.
As the evening progressed more and more cast members became incapacitated, forcing more and more desperate measures. Obviously, each night of the run will be different as the audience mix varies. I’m sure half the fun and excitement is in not quite knowing what will transpire, how good the new recruits will be etc. Tonight’s auditorium debutantes were fabulous – proving both what a special place Malvern is and also how clever the writing and acting is. Rhys Tees was an especial standout with his multiple characters (and voice-overs).
The genius of this show is that it includes everything you could possibly want in an evening’s entertainment – the familiarity of a classic piece of theatre, the rollercoaster ride that is improvisation, the seat of the pants anything can happen moments when you work off script with amateurs… But mostly the generosity of a genuinely feel good comedy when everyone shares equally in the joke. The programme proclaims “the show that makes you a star” and that is absolutely the case – some of the biggest laughs came from the totally off the cuff remarks and reactions of the audience cast.
This wonderful show will have you roaring in the aisles and gagging for more. I cannot recommend this highly enough – it’s the show that I wish I could have reviewed all week long. A startling accomplishment from all concerned! Well done chaps, Oscar would be proud I’m sure.