The Importance of Being Earnest @ McGill's Moyse Hall

One of my personal all time favorite plays, Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" is playing at the beautiful Moyse Hall, McGill University to November 29. Performances start at 7:30pm so plan to arrive early for the long walk up McGill College and the campus path to the Arts Bldg. 853 Sherbrooke St. W. Reservations and information www. mcgill.ca/moyse And the ticket price is very affordable in these troubled economic times.

The performance space is perfect for this late 19th century period piece, and all seats are good viewing. There are 2 intermissions so it does run a bit long for the short 3 act play. Written with 4 acts it was cut down to 3 when it was originally presented to the public and this is the more popular version, although the 2002 film with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth followed the 4 act format. However, even with the two breaks, time flies by with the quick reparté, rapid delivery, and quick pacing of the production.

The costumes are a delight and the set and lighting design are adequate for the production. With the exception of one miss-cast lead role the actors are overall well cast and suited to their roles. Performances of note are delivered by Elana Dunkelmen as the feisty Lady Bracknell and Jessica B. Hill as a saucy Gwendolen Fairfax. It is Brian Beckett who lands a bullseye with his interpretation of Algernon Moncrieff. Beckett's unique expression, use of physicality, and impeccable comedic timing make him a perfect fit for this otherwise miss-fit character, and he delivers a performance worthy of MECCA award recognition.

Faults with the production, apart from the 2 intermissions; 1 could have easily been sufficient by cutting out the 1st one; The back drop curtain could have been kept down through act 1, keeping the sitting room more intimate, and thereby allowing for the garden scenery for act 2 preset behind it. The set in act 1 was too spread out S.L. across to S.R. Apartments in London in this period were very close quarters, small and intimate. The characters are spread too thinly across the stage making it more difficult for their interaction and for the audience to follow the conversation. The biggest flaw is the miss-casting of the character John Worthing aka Ernest, in the title lead role. A faulty performance in so many ways: physical stance and basic posture, vocal projection, accent, visibly searching for the lines, and a lack of overall charisma and chemistry with the fellow actors, he came across as if he wished he could be anywhere else but in this moment. Not sure if it is a directors' error or due to a lack of appropriate talent to pull out of the pool, this is one big mistake.

However, Dee Arr still says Go See It!