General News
30 June, 2023
Great cast and humour in Rondo’s classic show
COMBINE a star-studded cast with an acclaimed director, stunning costumes and wicked humour and you have The Importance of Being Earnest opening at the Rondo Theatre tonight.
The best known work of world-famous playwright, Oscar Wilde, this timeless comedy also combines Victorian period manners with ‘tongue in cheek’ dialogue.
Cairns Little Theatre director Kevin Shorey said the play captured and told the story of young love with all its trials and tribulations of the time, as well as a glimpse into Oscar Wilde’s wicked humour. “It’s a collection of fascinating characters including overbearing matriarchs, all-knowing butlers, romance-minded young ladies and fun-loving young scoundrels, with even a governess and local clergy added to the mix,” he said.
“It all guarantees a glimpse into the somewhat ridiculous world of the aristocracy of yesteryear, and will delight audiences.
“Dressed in stunning, originally designed and handcrafted costumes, this frivolous mayhem with wonderfully witty dialogue provides an evening of total pleasure,” he said.
Set in the aristocratic world of elaborate gowns, top hats and canes, this Victorian comedy will introduce you to Jack and Algernon, two young men who have invented alter egos to escape their everyday lives. Trying to win the love of two young women, they inevitably find themselves tied in tales of deception and duplicity.
Kevin Shorey is justifiably proud of the Earnest cast including Barry McGinley in the role of the play’s protagonist, Jack Worthing.
“Falling in love with a Cairns lass, Barry’s forsaken his career as a trained Shakespearean actor and is anticipating gracing the boards of the Rondo. What it’s going to be like compared to his last role in Downton Abbey is anybody’s guess, but the cast and crew all hope he’s going to be around for a long time to come.
“Kurtis Lowden, playing the secondary hero Algernon to perfection in the same production, progressed from performing on the Rondo stage under the guidance of Maggie Sheppard, to appearing in Neighbours and forming his own Victorian Theatre Company.”
Coupled with qualified professional fellow actors like Heather Baker, Cath Willacy and Alice Bosanquet, they transport us all back seamlessly into the early 1900s with wonderful clothes and manners and a touch of naughtiness.
Being staged fully in the round for theatre at its best, don’t miss the nine performances at the Rondo.
