Well-bred bombast

The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s simultaneous love note to and critique of British high society during the Victorian era, is a wonderful play to take a discerning date to.

Playing at Portland Center Stage and directed by Artistic Director Chris Coleman, Earnest, a three-act performance, brings frivolity and humor to some of the most unfortunate times of one’s life. Of course, to Wilde’s mind, engagement and marriage are foremost in this category.

The Importance of Being Earnest revolves around characters preserving fake identities to avoid certain annoying social engagements. The two male leads, Jack and Algernon, played by Matthew Waterson and James Knight respectively, are both involved in what Algernon designates as “bunburying,” which means basically leading a double life. Conflict occurs when Jack tries to marry Algernon’s cousin Gwendolen, yet she, along with her disapproving mother, only knows and loves him by the name of “Earnest.”

The acting is superb, which is to be expected with characters having to induce a British dialect that includes an air of superiority. The supporting characters, especially Todd Van Voris playing not one but two butlers and Sharonlee McLean playing Miss Prism, are small but vital roles of comic relief and plot movement.

The best exchange is in Act two between the two female leads, Cecily and Gwendolen, played wonderfully by Nikki Coble and Kate MacCluggage, who were able to go from shallow niceties to seething rage (when they found out that they are both engaged to Earnest) at the drop of a Victorian bonnet. 

Wilde’s mantra of style over substance definitely shines through in the production elements of Earnest. The lavish costumes, especially the ladies in full Victorian garb, and the posh furniture, lets the audience know exactly what class of people these characters are.

The other production elements such as lightening and sound were solid (as in I didn’t pay attention to them), which means to me that they were accurately done without any foibles.

After the show, a friend of mine described it as “a sitcom set in 19th century London.” While I tend to agree with him (and not that there is anything wrong with sitcoms, in fact, they usually are the most entertaining form of TV), I think a more encompassing term is a well-designed “britcom.”

A “britcom” is (at least the way I am using it) a clever, relatively short piece, which includes witty characters, dark humor, social boundaries and an almost impossible plot that wraps up neatly at the end.

Even after more than 110 years, The Importance of Being Earnest hasn’t lost its relevance in lambasting an otherwise untouchable sort of person: the British socialite. Wilde’s ability to ridicule while glorifying the well-bred echelons of London’s past is due in part to his genuine curiosity of the lifestyle (while being a part of it) and pointing out the hypocrisy throughout it.

All I could think of while watching the performance was “I wish I was British.” British people can be clever and pompous at the same time and make it look like an art form. Something to strive toward, for sure.