An earnest endeavour

The wit of Oscar Wilde is coming to Mount Tabor

The Marysburgh Mummers is bringing Oscar Wilde’s timeless satirical comedy The Importance of Being Earnest to the Mount Tabor Playhouse in Milford later this month. Regarded as the best of Mr. Wilde’s drawing room plays, it was first performed in 1895 and has been regularly staged internationally since then, with three incarnations as cinematic movies. The play looks at the lifestyles of two well-to-do young men and the litany of lies that weave through their lives as they seek to avoid social responsibilities on the one hand and pursue romantic relations on the other. Director James Fraser, who also portrays the young schemer Algernon Moncrieff, says the play is still relevant in this day and age as the themes of identity, truth and falsehood are still all-pervasive. “It’s also a wonderful play,” he says. “It’s full of laughs and it’s stood the test of time. I also think that now more than ever is a really good time for people to come together and have a really good laugh and enjoy a piece of fine theatre.” Mr. Fraser studied at the Oxford School of Drama and has numerous stage and film or TV credits to his name, and has directed several productions. He was most recently part of Theâtre Roulant’s summer season at the Waring House.

A number of Mr. Fraser’s Theâtre Roulant colleagues jumped at the chance to audition for the Oscar Wilde play when he announced he would be directing it for the Marysburgh Mummers. Wendy Roy plays the role of Miss Prism, and brings a lot of stage experience from the Belleville Theatre Guild and Village Theatre. She enjoys the camaraderie of community theatre. “It’s a fun group activity that I enjoy. It’s nice to work with people towards a common goal, and it’s always a joy to entertain the local community. To get an emotion from the audience, it’s what feeds my soul,” she says. She uses an app to help her learn the lines, and does research into the time period to inform her interpretation of the character. She says Miss Prism has a stoic schoolmarm exterior, but seethes with passion on the inside. “It’s a lot of fun to pretend you’re the character, to imagine what they would be feeling in any given situation,” she says.

David Baker was another of Mr. Fraser’s Theâtre Roulant colleagues. He has had some professional acting experience and sees community theatre as a way of coming back to that. He plays the role of Jack (John Worthing) who discovers the importance of not only being earnest, but also being Ernest to win over his romantic interest. He says this play, though now 130 years old, is still relevant today. “There are universal themes of the younger generation versus the older generation and pushing back against societal norms’” he says. He sees his character as a counterpoint to Algernon, Mr. Fraser’s character, and he relishes the opportunity to bring some comedy onstage. Jean Parker plays Gwendolyn, Jack’s love interest whom he has wooed under a false name. Ms. Parker attended theatre school in Toronto and is a member of the Belleville Theatre Guild. She was in Theâtre Roulant’s Shakesbeer Rides Again and eagerly auditioned for this play. “I love this play,” she says. “This might be one of the first plays I ever read. I read it in high school and thought ‘This is it!’ I love Oscar Wilde’s sense of humour and the quick pace to it. It’s so witty and there are so many jokes.” She says her character, Gwendolyn, is strong-willed and confident, and is sure of what she wants and how she is going to get it. In rehearsing for this play, she says that trusting the playwright’s words leads her to finding joy in the part. “When you’re acting and working with such a great cast, that’s the magic of it,” she says.

Mr. Fraser says he considers himself fortunate that Pat Larkin is in the cast playing Lady Bracknell, continuing a tradition of a male playing a comedic female role. “Lady Bracknell has the most famous lines of this play. Pat has such an energy and presence on stage and Lady Bracknell demands that. She’s the matriarch and she’s in charge. Pat has the natural gifts to command a space and fill a room, and that’s very important to Lady Bracknell.” The play opens on September 24 at 7:30 p.m. There are performances on September 25 and 26, as well as October 1, 3 and 4 at the same time. There are also matinee performances on September 28 and October 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at marysburghmummers. ca as well as at Books & Company in Picton.