Over the years the Quad production has seen a lot of Shakespeare and Renaissance plays, but these are not the only classics. It is our hope that this year, with The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, we will re-vitalise the Quad and bring summer to Royal Holloway.
After a busy year and a term full of exams what Royal Holloway needs is a bit of fun, and it is for this reason that I chose to bid The Importance of Being Earnest. With muffin fights, cucumber sandwiches and, in the production, a man in drag, we hope to bring back the witty silliness for which British comedy is so renowned. When people asked me what I wanted to do with the play, my answer was to have fun. Indeed my answer for all questions such as ‘What is your director’s concept?’ was simply the word ‘fun’; I was worried I sounded a bit like a broken record. But that is really what I want to do. I want people to be able to sit back, relax and laugh the night away. That is if I have done a good job.
As with all bids, pulling together a team is always the hardest task. There are many people you know would be wonderful for the job but not everyone is willing to commit. I roped in my Producer after a rushed conversation in the library, and after a lot of sweet talking I had got myself a DSM and designer. I could not have been more happy with the team. The Earnest Crew are a great bunch with so much talent they could outshine the cast.
Rehearsals have been an entertaining enterprise so far. With everyone being so busy they have been very higgledy piggledy (word of the month) but boy they have been fun. All the cast work so well together and as soon as you put them on stage it is hard to make them stop. After two weeks we are well on our way, and hopefully by week seven it will be fantastic.
So grab your Pimms, picnic blanket and your cucumber sandwich and come along to The Importance of being Earnest on June the 11th, 12th and 13th. I promise you will have, well….fun.
Article: Helena Jane Kirby