Birch & Teal Productions’ eccentric reimagining of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

Birch & Teal Productions play on the infamous Oscar Wilde play The Importance of Being Earnest. (Brianna Lyttle/AQ)

As part of Fredericton FROSTival, Oscar Wilde’s classic farce The Importance of Being Earnest delighted audiences at the Tom Morrison Theatre during the last weekend of January.

The story follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff as they make up names and identities for themselves and switch back and forth between them while finding love in Victorian England, resulting in many hijinks along the way.

Having read the classic play while attending university together, actors Kayla-Renee Ossachuk and Andrew Martel, who played Gwendolyn Fairfax and Algernon Moncrieff respectively, were happy with the positive community reception.

“It can be a very boring play and I think we did something really fun with it,” said Ossachuk.

Martel enjoyed the script’s wordplay, as well as the tight-knit nature of the small cast.

“I always enjoy doing small cast plays,” he said. “I feel like there's a camaraderie that you don’t always get when there's a giant ensemble.”

Because of the tight rehearsal timeline due to other ongoing projects, director Ben Harrison offered roles to actors he previously worked with instead of holding open auditions. 

After casting was finalized in October, the actors had December and January to rehearse.

“I've worked with all of these people many times and I have a lot of trust in them, so I knew that they would come quite prepared, but there were so many great breakthrough moments in our rehearsal process,” Harrison said.

Harrison was interested in the creative freedom and openness to interpretation that he found with The Importance of Being Earnest.

“I felt like it was an exciting piece with a lot of freedom to design what I wanted t and so I had a lot of fun taking a very formal feeling comedy and bringing it to some zaniness,” he said.

The director brought a contemporary edge to his imagining of the classic play, with the shocking reveals of the play, including a take to the audience from the actors, accompanied by a dramatic “dun-dun-dun” sound effect.

“The show has so many of those wink-wink, nudge-nudge moments. And I think part of my comedy is if something's meant to be blatant, let's make it really blatant … it helps people find connections in language that may seem a little outdated or foreign.”

With Ossachuk having previously portrayed Elizabeth Bennet in a theatrical adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and Martel having experience with Shakespeare plays and French accent work, the two were able to polish their British accents for the show.

Along with their previous experience, Ossachuk and Martel were assisted by British castmates Anita and Ben Newling, who played Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble.

Martel said, “We would do line reads together at home … [Harrison] would pause and be like, ‘Real quick, how would you pronounce this stuff?’ And you play off of that.”

Despite being married in real life with ten years of performing together under their belts, Ossachuk and Martel reported only playing opposite each other once. Playing characters who clashed was not a new experience for the two.

“There's a lot of trust and comfort and so sometimes it is easier to play the roles where you can be a little meaner to each other because at the end of the day, we know that we do love each other. There’s no worry that things are going to cross over into the real world,” said Ossachuk. 

Harrison made many creative choices to add to the production.

Gwendolyn’s character acquired a purse full of popcorn that she carried around with her during scenes where she was on stage during long periods in which she had no lines. He also crafted the confrontation between Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism to include a wacky chase scene in the living room. 

When reading Algernon’s line calling a room “bright and gay,” he decided to dress his house in as much pink as possible.

“In Victorian times, gender lines were a lot more ambiguous, which is contrary to what we may think. And so I wanted to play into that.”

Harrison hopes to direct more classic farces in the future since they are often underproduced in North America.

“There's a lot of relatability there and a lot of silliness. And in a time when things feel really heavy and hard, a bit of comedy and a bit of farce is always good to lighten the mood.”