In a very surreal take on Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, FramBag Theatre present a performance in which the women play the men and the men play the women.
For those not familiar with the plot, the incredibly witty play is based around the themes of love, friendship, but most of all confusion. In the opening sequence, the men took to the stage in their frilly dresses and the women in their suits, as they broke into an acapella version of I’m sexy and I know it. Every scene change throughout the performance was given the soundtrack of a different acapella medley. Two friends, Algie and Jack, both have alter egos who, confusingly, are both called Earnest. As both alter egos become engaged to two different women, a side splittingly funny play follows. The script is immensely funny as it is, but the cast’s unique take on the drama gives it more of a slapstick quality.
The play is filled with famously amusing lines such as ‘To lose one parent may be regarded as misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness’. The eternally wonderful line ‘A Handbag!’ is coupled with the man in his straw floral hat showering himself with tea. When performing such a famous play, it is very difficult to make your production stand out, but this cast do very well to make theirs a unique performance packed full of comedic brilliance.
