Chaos meets comedy in this off-the-rails adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. What begins as a typical staging of the play quickly meets its first hiccup when the star, Earnest, misses his cue because, well… he’s not there!

Even without a lead, Stage Manager Simon decides that the show must go on and that the only alternative is to find a recruit. From where? You ask. Well, it could be you, as Simon auditions the audience to find his new leading man.

Once he’s found his (in)voluntary participant, they soon become Earnest themself, thrusted into the mayhem as the cast and crew scramble to improvise around the amateur actor. Our Earnest for the evening, Ollie, took the role up with Aussie bloke charm, a hilarious juxtaposition against the British aristocrats opposite him.

While they all try their best, somehow anything that could go wrong does until the play descends into complete bedlam when even more audience members are pulled up to fill more roles. By then, everyone is all in, barracking for their success as the mismatched troupe on stage are able to land the ending with flair.

If you’re thinking of going along, practise your accent work — you may end up needing it!

…Earnest? plays at The Peacock at Gluttony until Sunday 22 March.

Proudly reviewed by Andrei Pick