The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Theatre Works

The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck is a play within a play, following three fabulously bitchy thespians as they attempt to mount Oscar Wilde’s classic The Importance of Being Earnest. But what happens when you put a trio of queens with equally towering egos and insecurities together? Absolute bedlam.

Written by Steven Dawson, with only splashes of Oscar Wilde woven through, this isn’t a camp(er) retelling of Earnest - no, no, no, no. It’s very much its own beast.

There are arguments over who gets to wear Lady Bracknell’s dress, and debates about how to reinterpret the scenes. If you want to see Earnest acted in the style of kabuki and Chekhov, you're in the right place. The rehearsal process is as hilarious as it is anarchic. The challenge they face in condensing a two-hour production into 90, then 45 minutes ratchets up the tension, pushing these queens into greater ridiculous antics.

Oscar Wilde's De Profundis review | Midsumma Festival | Gasworks Arts Park

When most people think of Oscar Wilde, the first thought that comes to mind is one of comedy and laughs, most notably due to his plays An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. However, in 1895, while incarcerated and forced into hard prison labour for gross indecency, Wilde spent two years virtually deprived of any comfort and affection, and perhaps most importantly for him, books and writing. It was during this time that he penned a love letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, who was his lover at the time of his conviction, and also his betrayer. Presented as part of Midsumma Festival, De Profundis (From the Depths) is a darker, more distressing side to Wilde that is rarely heard of, and is a poignant look at forgiveness and acceptance.

The Happy Prince review| Little Ones Theatre | Midsumma Festival | La Mama Theatre

Oscar Wilde's short story, The Happy Prince, tells the tale of a golden statue of a prince that overlooks a city. Along with a flying swallow that he encounters, the Happy Prince sacrifices itself in vain in order to help the people who are suffering from poverty. As part of Midsumma Festival, queer theatre company, Little Ones Theatre, have taken to Wilde's story but adapted it through a queer lens. The contemporary homo-erotic story now explores the desperation and futility that two women experience in order to remain with the one they love.

Dressed in a gold sequinned dress with gold nail polish and a smear of gold face paint, Janine Watson wondrously captures the innocence (and ignorance) of the Happy Prince. As the sacrifices become bigger, her determination becomes more evident in bringing happiness and good to the people, regardless how fleeting or thankful the act might be.

The Happy Prince | Midsumma Festival interview

Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince is a short story for children around friendship, love and compassion between a statue of The Happy Prince and a swallow flying to Egypt. However, the story is also a critique of a society insensible to the world around it. As part of Midsumma Festival, the proclaimed purveyors of high camp, Little Ones Theatre will be producing this tale but with their own queer interpretation. 

"It’s funny, because I only read this story as an adult, so I guess I’ve always seen it as a queer allegory. I never had the innocent response to it that those who read it as children had. It has always had a 'queer take' in my mind. That is why I was drawn to it," explains director Stephen Nicolazzo. "I always saw it as an opportunity to further explore my obsession with sexuality and gender, but in this case, what was unique was that it was a love story. I am a romantic as heart and I think what I have always been draw to about The Happy Prince is its unashamed romanticism. It is tragic and it is indicative of the experiences of queer people throughout history and it manages to do this in the space of ten pages."