Review of audio-described performance of Importance of Being Earnest
At the Old Birmingham Rep, Tuesday 7.30 pm on 11 October.
As the Rep Theatre is currently being refurbished to be included in the new City Library with building taking place over the next couple of years, the Rep’s productions are being staged at a variety of theatrical venues around Birmingham. As a result I had my first visit to the Old Rep, a charmingly quaint and intimate theatre, near to New St station, where I saw an audio-described performance of Oscar Wilde’s classic ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ on the evening of Tuesday 11 October.
Arriving at the stage door, as requested, of the Old Rep in Hinkley St at 6.30 pm for the touch tour, fellow visually impaired patrons and their companions were greeted by the Rep’s manager, Nigel Cairns and describers Julia Grundy and Janet Jackson, who then conducted us through the very small bar area, into the auditorium and up onto the stage. This small square proscenium stage was described as resembling a box opening at one side providing the setting for 3 locations during the 2 and a half hour production – a London drawing room, then a country house garden, followed by a drawing room in the same country house.
We were shown around the set of Algernon Moncrieff’s London sitting room with its dark brown floorboards and cream-painted walls, covered with what were described as ghostly images of bookcases. The furniture was sparse, giving just a hint of luxury, including a blue Chesterfield sofa, covered by an Art Nouveau throw, and there were also 2 matching leather button-backed armchairs. During our touch tour we were fortunate enough to meet a number of the cast including, Nick Caldicott (playing Lady Bracknell) and Tom Davy playing Jack Worthing, who talked about their roles and described their costumes which were in period.
With less than an hour to go before the start of the show we really appreciated the time the actors were able to give to us – a real bonus! Directed by Philip Wilson this classic comedy was first performed in1895, and I was reminded just how full of famous quotations it is, including of course …A Handbag??!!. The same creative team also produced Tom Stoppard’s ,Travesties, - which makes many allusions to, and quotes from the Oscar Wilde play. Travesties was first performed some 80 years later, and as I couldn’t attend the actual audio described performance, Julia and Janet kindly allowed me to tune into their dry run, which took place before the official a d evening on the 18 October. For both performances once again I found the pre-show notes (available both online and reprised ‘live’ 15 minutes before curtain-up) with details of the set, characters and costumes - immensely helpful, as indeed was the audio description itself.
The next audio described performances by the Birmingham Rep will be the ever popular The Snowman at the Birmingham’s ICC on the afternoon of Thursday 29 December 2011 and Sleeping Beauty at The Crescent Theatre on either the afternoon of Saturday 7 or morning of Tuesday 10 January 2012, and details of how to obtain tickets, headsets and places on the touch tour can be obtained by ringing the Rep’s box office number which remains the same, 0121 236 4455.
