A Wilde Dandy of a Reimagining

A Wilde Dandy of a Reimagining

FRACTIOUS TASH & LAST TAPES THEATRE COMPANY PRESENT
EARNEST

Directed by BENJAMIN HENSON
Musical arrangement by ROBIN KELLY
Starring STEPHEN BUTTERWORTH, ELI MATHEWSON, JORDAN MOONEY, ANDREW FORD, OSCAR WILSON, JORDAN SELWYN, COLE JENKINS, DAVID SUTHERLAND

The boys are about to get Wilde, as Fractious Tash and Last Tapes Theatre Company join forces in an all-male, dandy inspired take on Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. EARNEST, playing Loft @ Q Theatre in August, is a reworking for eight gentlemen and lovers of Cher…

The lights are low. The gin is in great supply. The band is playing your favourites. In the smoky depths of a 50’s London gay bar, the tipsy regulars loosen their dinner jackets to ask – who the f**k is Ernest?

Under the beady eye of top-bitch, Lady Bracknell, two dandy fops squabble over the love of two dreamy sweethearts, and the name “Ernest” seems to matter an awful lot…

Embracing the popular opinion Wilde’s work had a level of homosexual subtext (including the word “Earnest” being a synonym of “gay” back in Victorian London), this rebooted and revamped take of Oscar’s quintessential comedy brims with vivacious wit, bravado and downright silliness.

With director Benjamin Henson (Titus, Confessions, Camino Real) at the helm, this off-kilter version of The Importance of Being Earnest marries classic one-liners to a live soundtrack, arranged by Auckland musical maestro Robin Kelly (Julia Deans sings Joni Mitchell, Brel, Gravity Hotel), featuring the greatest hits of another historically renowned wordsmith – Cher. With a live band providing a soundtrack that includes Turn Back Timeand The Shoop Shoop Song, this devilish reimagining looks to open the audience’s eyes to all the cheeky in-jokes Mr. Wilde left behind.

A vibrant collaboration between Auckland young bloods Fractious Tash and Last Tapes Theatre Company (The Last Five Years, VERBATIM), Earnest’s all male cast boasts the acting talent of Stephen Butterworth (Chicago), Jordan Mooney (Lord of the Flies), Andrew Ford (Super City), Oscar Wilson (Camino Real) and Jordan Selwyn (Mega Christmas) alongside previous Fractious Tash conspirators Eli Mathewson, Cole Jenkins, David Sutherland – the trio featuring in the acclaimed 2013 season of Titus.

United in the efforts to blow the cobwebs away from the charismatic writings of one of history’s greatest writers, Earnest is Oscar’s work like you've never experienced before!

EARNEST plays:
27 - August - 6th September
Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen Street, Auckland
Performances: 8pm Tuesday – Saturday, 7pm Sunday
Tickets: $24 - $30 (booking fees may apply)
Tickets available through Q Theatre – 09 309 9771 or www.qtheatre.co.nz

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