REVIEW: …Earnest? at Mayflower Studio

‘Simon Slough’ has made it to Southampton with the Oscar Wilde classic, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Well actually, Say It Again, Sorry? are back in Southampton at Mayflower Studios with another run of their play, ‘…Earnest?’. This is potentially one of, if not my most anticipated show of the year - and it did not disappoint. From being an Edinburgh Fringe smash hit, to touring before their long awaited and well deserved West-End run, ‘…Earnest?’ is a true representation of theatre going from just an idea, to the biggest of stages. This is a fantastic and fresh take on a theatre classic, but I can almost guarantee it is unlike anything you have ever seen before. I think what makes this play feel so funny and natural is because of the company Say It Again, Sorry?. These guys are an award winning interactive theatre company, who have comedy at the front of their minds and are literally all just a group of friends. The actors aren’t just actors, they’re on the creative and production teams as well.

Now the basic premise of this show is that we are expecting to see ‘The Importance of Being Ernest’, but what happens when some of the main cast don’t turn up? Well the next most obvious thing to do is cast an audience member in the show right? And this doesn’t just happen once or twice, there is actually a moment where everybody on that stage ends up being audience and no original cast members. This show is hilarious, it’s clever, and I think these performers are so technically gifted its crazy. I remember saying in the interval, “I wonder how technically intricate putting a show on like this is?”. And ultimately I think it comes down to the writing and cast. The cast are improv masters and that’s exactly what they need to be - ready for literally anything. This comedic play has big similarities to that of ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ - but personally I think this is far funnier.

Now staying on the subject of cast, I will quickly talk about the real cast because they were all incredible. Guido Garcia Lueches as ‘Terry’ was hilarious, the way he bonded with his costars as well as his audience costars was perfect. There was a moment when I thought that surely we can’t repeat the same section again, but it didn’t cease to be funny. Josh Haberfield as ‘Simon Slough’ (the director), was also very funny. His interaction with the audience was brilliant, and some of my favourite moments came from him speaking from the auditorium or his ‘undercover’ chats backstage. Rhys Tees as ‘Graham’ had the audience in stitches with his ‘act 3 physical theatre set’ and Trynity Silk as ‘Jennifer’ played the perfect drunk and was just as confused as we in the audience were at points. Judith Amsenga as ‘Eleanor’ was a perfect figure of authority, and seeing her talk to our ‘audience Earnest’ through the mirror was fantastic. I also like how none of these guys would break the fourth wall, but also would, without seeming like they were. Very professional! I think the unsung hero of this show is potentially Ben Mann as ‘Josh’. He is all physical comedy and seeing his instruction from Josh as ‘Simon’ is perfect.

But of course how can I forget our wonderful audience cast members who were the real stars of the show. We heard potentially the best and most surprising piano solo, and an inspired ‘Earnest’ who wasn’t short of words. I feel like picking audience members is always the hardest part to ensure you get the right people to make the show as funny as possible - but tonight it was brilliant. You may be thinking, doesn’t the story get lost in all of this pandemonium? Well yes a little bit, but I also don’t think that the story is the main reason you’re coming to see a show like this one. For example you still fully understand what is going on, and I think that is thanks to the writing. But it’s the little nods to popular culture like ‘Shrek’, ‘Harry Potter’, and the local area that really make this show feel personalised and relatable. Just amazing!

When it comes to set and design I was actually really pleasantly surprised. It looked super polished, had some really nice design aspects with comedy that probably went over peoples heads, and some really effective effects in there as well. I’ve already mentioned about the 2 way mirror, but the use of lighting was pure comedy. I loved the ‘spotlight’ moments (both on stage, and in the auditorium), and the misplaced lights when characters had to move to be under them. Silly little things like that will never not be funny. The set also must’ve been difficult to create to the point of, it needed to look like an amateur-ish show that had been built off of HSBC loans (if you know, you know) - but then also needed to be functional and look like the impressive set of ‘…Earnest?’ which it was. Really impressed. I’ll be intrigued to see whether or not the set changes much when it heads to the West End.

Now when it comes to music, there wasn’t really the much. Playing in the auditorium before the show were classical versions of famous songs which was a nice touch. Again it was only a little moment but just by doing this, it’s a comedic touch that says, we’re going to be seeing something that wants to be classy like ‘Oscar Wilde’, but you can tell somethings a little bit off straight away. I also like how the show keeps calling back too little nods that happened earlier in the show. I won’t give it away but there may be a little music nod in this aspect as well.

To sum up, this show is hilarious. It can only be described as a MUST WATCH. If you’re up for a laugh, you just need to go and see this. There’s no certainty that you won’t be watching, but may instead be performing. But also if you’ve seen this before, go and watch again, because like they say after the show - they can guarantee that you won’t see the same show twice. ‘…Earnest?’ is at Mayflower Studios until Saturday 8th March before continuing on its UK tour ahead of its move into the West End! I wish all the cast, crew and whole company the best of luck going forward - and I can almost definitely say that they should probably keep some space free in the award/trophy shelf.