...Earnest? - 10 out of 10
Say it Again, Sorry Productions
TICKETS: ...Earnest? | Adelaide Fringe
Andrew Kay,
Nic Doodson, Ben Mann and Josh Haberfield have co-created …Earnest?, producing
a very individualised performance each evening with great affect by the
audience in attendance. The team and the well-oiled cast have pulled apart the
mechanics of “Are You Being Earnest?” and turned the 3-act Oscar Wilde classic
into a 75-minute chaotic ball of thunder, culminating in some brilliant work
for audience members to take part in.
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.
Guiding
their volunteer ‘stars’ through the story with exceptional comical timing, and
quick witted improvisation, the cast always remain in control while keeping
every spontaneous moment filled with fun and chaos. The fun includes impromptu
auditions with some iconic dialogue from Shrek, real whiskey replacing stage
whiskey, and a less-than-pleasant muffin.
The script is
filled with witty asides and brilliant improvisations that are clever without
being too cheesy, ridiculous without skipping beats, and giving many friends of
ring-in cast members some valuable footage to reminisce upon later.
Producer
Ben Mann portrayed the perfect stage manager – dealing with getting ring-ins
into costumes and mic’d up; inconspicuously passing scripts to actors, setting up
for auditions and much, much more. At one point in the production, he is asked
to make an announcement to the audience, and in true stage manager style, was
petrified at the idea! With some audience encouragement, he made it to the
microphone before having the spotlight taken away by the director. Mann played
his role with finesse and despite having no lines, was an integral and
phenomenal part to the show.
Unfortunately,
there was no cast-program for this production, and as such, providing acting credit
and compliments to the other actors isn’t possible, regardless of how well they
all worked together and provided a perfect production.
…Earnest is playing at Gluttony across the entire Fringe season, and it’s 75 minutes you really won’t mind giving up in support of the arts.
- Andrew Broadbent
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