The Importance of Being Earnest
★★★★☆ Ambitious
Bedlam Theatre: Wed 11 – Sat 14 Mar 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
The EUTC’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Bedlam is careful and intelligent. It may ultimately lack a little sparkle, but makes up for it in many other ways.
Oscar Wilde’s ‘trivial comedy for serious people’ has been constantly popular, with its depiction of the tangled lives of two young gentlemen as they lead double lives to avoid the expectations of society.
Safiya Kilroy-Friedman (Jack) and Ella Peattie (Algernon). Pic Emily Sharp.
There have been some recent productions that have done some decidedly odd things to the play. One that had much older performers as Jack and Algy, and another that attacked the text at 100 miles an hour in order to fit it into a Fringe slot, remain fresh in the mind (and not necessarily for good reasons).
Some of the more successful recent versions have leant into the play’s obvious reflections of Wilde’s own history – the secret life, the ‘Bunburying’ and so on – that it has almost become expected to see Lady Bracknell played by an actor identifying as male.
Director El Mair’s contribution to this comes in the elegant gender-swapping of the four young lovers, with Algernon and Jack played by Ella Peattie and Safiya Kilroy-Friedman, and Gwendolen and Cecily by Zac Askham and Tai Remus Elliot. This works beautifully, and (like everything else in the production) is the result of obvious thought and consideration by Mair.
considerable theatrical nous
Anything that doesn’t quite come off in the production tends to be the result of over-ambition rather than carelessness; Mair clearly knows exactly what they are doing, and this is another in a series of recent Bedlam productions that combines an understanding of the text with imagination and considerable theatrical nous.
Tai Remus Elliot (Cecily) and Zac Askham (Gwendolen). Pic Emily Sharp.
Peattie and Kilroy-Friedman are both extremely impressive, with Peattie managing some of the always tricky business of eating while acting exceptionally well. Indeed, the afternoon tea scene, with its pile of muffins, is as good as you could hope to see. Both performers display considerable relish in their portrayals of the double-dealing but essentially decent young fellows.
There is a delicacy and poise to the characterisations that is mirrored by Askham and Remus Elliot, whose first meeting is probably the production’s funniest scene.
a considered characterisation
Claudia Collins’s Lady Bracknell is another considered characterisation, much more reserved and human than is often the case. And great credit for a ‘handbag’ line that has an impact, while not being delivered in the familiar Edith Evans way.
Thomas Knibbs gives Canon Chasuble the appropriate level of fustiness, while Karis Halpin’s Miss Prism is finely drawn. Meri Suonenlahti’s portrayal of the two butlers also deserves praise.
Claudia Collins (Lady Bracknell) and Zac Askham (Gwendolen). Pic: Emily Sharp.
A commitment to diligently placed dialogue and appropriately cut-glass accents is in evidence throughout. This leads to some odd moments (such as a servant who sounds even posher than their employer) and can have an effect on the delivery. There is the occasional moment that is just too quiet, and some of the best jokes are difficult to make out.
The pacing is very good, but the rhythm often comes into the ‘nearly but not quite’ category, so the dialogue does not always have the necessary pizzazz. The humour could do with more emphasis. The production does not lack for archness (Suonenlahti applies a ludicrous moustache in full view of the audience, and affects an exaggerated French accent as Merriman) so could easily stand a touch more exaggeration. There is also the occasional instance of performers screening others from the audience’s view or delivering lines facing away from them.
awkward constructions
The replacement of gender-specific pronouns with ‘they’ and ‘them’ in the lines makes perfect sense, and isn’t even noticeable unless you are specifically looking for it. The older characters’ constant use of ‘thou’ for ‘you’ is another matter. For whatever reason it is done, it sounds intrusive, and leads to some awkward constructions.
There are also a couple of odd pronunciations that would largely pass by without comment, with the exception of the American version of ‘lieutenant’, which sticks out like a sore thumb.
Zac Askham (Gwendolen) and Safiya Kilroy-Friedman (Jack) with Meri Suonenlahti (Lane). Pic Emily Sharp.
While it is something of a relief to have a three-act play with the requisite two intervals, things do get somewhat drawn out. The set (co-managed by Ava Tumblety and Tanya Molleson) is inventive. The changes, performed by stagehands complete with servants’ outfits and coal-scuttle hats, are interesting to watch, but the complex fly system managed by Fiona Connor can prove recalcitrant, and all the re-setting just takes too long in a production approaching three hours.
Similarly, the use of onstage ‘statues’ performing music under the musical direction of Jasper Fuller is a mixed blessing. The music (string versions of songs of various vintages, but all much more recent than Wilde’s era) is intriguing, and the musicians’ presence leads to one wonderful sight gag, but once again it is just overused. When the audience is unsure whether an act has started or ended, or the curtain call is delayed as much as it is here, then some rethinking is needed.
bold colour palette
Nhi Tran’s costume design is exceptionally good, making striking use of a bold colour palette. Aaron Rashid’s lighting is tremendously effective, while the sound design of Atalanta Lewis is thoroughly evocative, although prone to overuse, with characters’ words fighting against recorded street noises on one occasion.
Once again, however, any faults are down to an excess of invention or imagination rather than a lack of them, which is exactly how it should be. As Gwendolen points out, perfection would leave no room for development.
Running time: Two hours and 45 minutes (including two intervals)
Bedlam Theatre, 11B Bristo Place, EH1 1EZ
Wednesday 11 – Saturday 14 March 2026
Daily at 7.30 pm; Matinee Sat 2.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Ella Peattie (Algernon), Safiya Kilroy-Friedman (Jack), Zac Askham (Gwendolen) and Tai Remus Elliot (Cecily). Pic: Emily Sharp.
ENDS
