★★★★★ A unique performance boasting perfect control of the space and excellent comedic timing.

Playhouse Theatre, QPAC, W!LD RICE
September 13, 2015

Glen Goei directs an all-male ensemble in Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest as part of the 2015 Brisbane Festival’s Singapore Snapshots. Their performance of what Wilde described as a “trivial comedy for serious people” sparkled like champagne, and kept its audience laughing out loud.

Named as Singapore’s “sexiest theatre company” by Lonely Planet, W!LD RICE has grasped The Importance of Being Earnest with both hands, and performed it at its extravagant best. Brisbane audiences watched with delight as Jack (Daniel York) and Algernon (Brendon Fernandez) tangled themselves in a web of deception, attempting to woo the women of their dreams. Impeccably dressed by Frederick Lee, the cast of larger-than-life characters explore notions of marriage, truth, family, social class, gender and identity as Jack and Algernon learn the importance of being honest, and of being Ernest.

The performance began well before the opening line was uttered. As the audience took their seats, the cast appeared from side stage and began circling the auditorium, offering cucumber sandwiches on silver trays as a string quartet from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane played a selection of...