The production follows three gay actors who attempt to put on a production of The Importance of Being Earnest, despite the sizeable cast required to put on the play. The production is unsuccessful from start to a brilliant finish where the actors are forced to perform a very abridged version of the show due to the theatre being used for a rugby team. Part of what makes this show very funny are the parodies of Being Earnest especially the one at the end where the actors run through the show for the audience for ten minutes, parodying the most iconic parts of the original play.
The highlight of the play is the snarky comedy between these actors, who like in an original production of Being Earnest have built their friendship on façade. Hilarity ensues, therefore, when insults are thrown left, right and centre. It is solid comedy and will leave viewers in stitches.
Despite the hilarious, pointed verbal attacks thrown around by the actors, they reveal the deep-seated insecurities these men have; about aging, being unattractive, and being unable to be in loving relationships with people who are attracted to them. Although the production tells a simple funny story about a questionable failed adaption of The Importance of Being Earnest it is also about three self-doubting men who mask their various insecurities behind flamboyance and mean comments.
The actors successfully balance the flamboyant meanness of their characters, with occasional moments of sincerity making them seem believable. They manage to carry the production with a very basic set and – one of the highlights of the performance – 0 a wooden duck. This play though is primarily a comedy and while there is sincerity, it is not the primary focus of the production.
The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck is a hilarious must-see production, which draws on the traditions of snarky male humour and proves that the act of insult truly can be an art form.
The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck
theSpace on the Mile – Space 3 (Venue 39)
14-25 August (not 19)
Image: Carl Mikoy via Flickr