Where’s Earnest?
Reviewed by Sandi Laird
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, is an 1895 classic set in Victorian England and written by the Oscar Wilde. It is a masterpiece that has stood the test of time with its clever premise, sly wit, and double entendres. The Grand Theatre’s production is all those things and more. The performers are well cast. James Daly is a standout as Algernon Moncrieff. He owns the stage and appears in most scenes of the two-and-a-half-hour show. Daly as Algernon is handsome, smooth, devilish, amusing. He moves with fluidity delivering his lines with tongue firmly in cheek. It was a joy to watch him slyly reveal his queer side in an era that did not openly acknowledge such qualities.
The entire cast, under the deft direction of Alistair Newton, radiates. Julien Galipeau as the lovesick John Worthing (AKA Earnest) was a less showy character but never-the-less manages to stand toe to toe with Daly. Claire Julien as Lady Bracknell demands your attention. She is the forceful Victoria mother who guards her daughter’s future with lofty standards and iron-willed authority.
Newton, making his directing debut in London, adds two new elements for our viewing pleasure. Billy Lake is Lady Stella Clinton, (AKA Ernest Boulton) a queer trailblazer and an actual historical figure, who delights the audience with a pair of musical numbers by Gilbert and Sullivan.
To open the play, Newton offers a short vignette on “The Language of Fans” – the hand-held cooling devices, not the appreciative audience members. Newton’s information introduces the modern audience to the subtle messages Victorian ladies used to convey their moods, gain attention, and send signals to those nearby. Closed and resting on left ear: “Go away.” Shutting slowly: “I will marry you.”
The combined set, costume and lighting design was sublime. Big showy hats and gorgeous dresses for the ladies; stylish suits for the gentlemen. The use of colour and lightning is essential to the mood. Director Newton best describes it all. “The green of Act 1 comes from the code of the dyed carnation flowers which Wilde and his set wore on their lapels to identify one another. The yellow of Act 2 is the same hue as the covers of ‘decadent’ French literature of the period, as well as of The Yellow Book, a publication of the Aesthetic Movement. The red of Act 3 is taken from Wilde’s vermillion office at his family’s London home on Tite Street: a blast of shocking, subversive colour amidst an otherwise tastefully minimal, and mostly white, interior.”
So where is Earnest? You will find him at the Grand.
The Importance of Being Earnest continues at the Grand Theatre, Spriet Stage, London until April 12. Tickets are available at the Grand box office at 519-672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593 or visit www.grandtheatre.com
Photo: Julien Galipeau as John Worthing, Mirabella Sundar Singh as Cecily Cardew, Billy Lake as Lady Stella, James Daly at Alergnon Moncrieff. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Written by Oscar Wilde
Additional text by Alistair Newton “On the Language of Fans”
Directed by Alistair Newton
Musical direction by Stephen Ingram
Choreography by George Absi
Set Design by Michelle Tracey
Costumes designed by Judith Bowden
Lighting design by Siobhán Sleath
Performed by Deena Aziz, James Daly, Julien Galipeau, Kaylee Harwood, Claire Jullien, Billy Lake, Ben Sanders, Mirabella Sundar Singh
Grand Theatre, Spriet Stage, 471 Richmond Street, London
March 24 to April 12, 2026
Reviewed by Sandi Laird