
Written By
Genre
Synopsis
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. In 1890’s London, two friends use the same pseudonym for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.
Awards
Durban Vita Awards 2002
Best Supporting Actress
Cast
Role
Actor
Director
Garth Anderson
Reviews
“Although Earnest is ostensibly massively Eurocentric, anyone in the English-speaking world should delight in the intricate comedy of false identity. And Garth Anderson’s players pulled it off with panache… a hugely enjoyable production.”
Peter Machen, The Independent on Saturday
“Director Garth Anderson has given a straightforward reading of the play, resisting the temptation to add too many flourishes of his own. And the one that has been put in, making Belinda Harwood’s outstanding Gwendolen into something of a social liability along the lines of the light-fingered Queen Mary is, if not altogether explicable, very funny! Performances are good all round, with Vera Clare on good form as Lady Bracknell and Anderson and Alison Cassells making fine foils for the younger couples… Earnest looks good with an attractive, unfussy set. This production offers lively entertainment and a welcome escape from the brutal world outside, more than a century on from when it was written.”
Margaret von Klemperer, The Witness
“If it’s not ‘pc’ to enjoy a very jolly and delightful slice of Victoriana, then you’ll have to count me as out of touch. Whether it Wilde or Welcome Msomi, if the writing stands up to the test of time and audiences enjoy it, surely that’s the yardstick? Produced by Greg King’s hard-working KickstArt company, this production of Earnest is an absolute joy… Wonderful costumes, stage setting and music by Gilbert and Sullivan and Strauss complement the whole… the cast is marvellous and Wilde’s witty repartee still shines after all these years.”
Sally Scott, The Daily News
“Durban can be proud of and should truly cherish Greg King and his KickstArt theatre company, which was formed in May last year to serve popular dramatic plays to a local market saturated with cabaret, supper theatre and musical revues.”
Billy Suter, The Mercury