Earnest Brings Laughs and Intrigue to On Stage!

Guy Oliver-Watts, left, as Algernon and Rebecca Reaney as Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest.

On Thursday night, the curtain rose at Martinsville High School Auditorium on the delightfully colorful and kitschy set of Oscar Wilde's classic, The Importance of Being Earnest. Premiered in 1895, Earnest remains Wilde's most popular play and for good reason - it's full of dry wit and salacious humor. The clever all-British cast from New York's Aquila Theatre performed the play in "modern dress," sporting casual attire and talking on cell phones.

Deemed by Wilde to be "a trivial comedy for serious people," this deliciously witty comedy details the escapades of Jack Worthing (James Hogg) and Algernon Moncrieff (Guy Oliver-Watts), two members of the fashionable British upper crust. In an attempt to escape their dull country lives, they invent wild tales about the imaginary Ernest and Bunbury. Their deceptions eventually cross paths, resulting in a series of hilarious discoveries that threaten to spoil their romantic pursuits. All this plays on Aquila's comedic strengths as the actors employed physical humor and facial expressions for laughs along with the hilarious appearance of James Lavender in the role of stern matriarch Lady Bracknell.

Hundreds of area residents were treated to an entertaining, yet thought-provoking, example of British theatre.

"I love live theatre, so driving 60 miles to see a play of this caliber was an easy decision. I thought the cast did a great job with a play that demands exact timing," said Michael Howlett, who drove from Hillsville to see the performance.

In addition to Thursday night's performance, Aquila also participated in the program Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives: Poetry-Drama-Dialogue, made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.  The actors participated in a live reading of scenes from Greek drama in the Piedmont Arts galleries on Wednesday night, to over 80 guests. Thursday afternoon, the actors also lead a mask acting workshop at Piedmont Arts for the public and students from Carlisle School.

Aquila Theatre's performance of The Importance of Being Earnest was presented by Piedmont Arts On Stage! This marks Aquila Theatre's third performance in Martinsville as part of the On Stage! series. The company performed Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2011 and Romeo and Juliet in 2006. This tour engagement of Aquila Theatre Company is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.