Alastair Whatley as Wilde [Marc Brenner]

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR
Park Theatre
4 stars

The Importance of Being Oscar has a long history, having been written and first performed by Micheál Mac Liammóir in 1960. An actor and writer who co-founded Dublin’s Gate Theatre, he was fascinated by Oscar Wilde and toured the show extensively until 1976.

Mac Liammóir traces Wilde’s early success, the publication of his 1884 fairy tales, including The Happy Prince, his marriage to Constance Lloyd that same year and birth of their two children.

This is followed in 1891 by his ill-fated relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, “Bosie”, which ended with Wilde’s 1895 imprisonment in Reading Gaol for “gross indecency” and, after his 1897 release, his early death in a Parisian hotel in 1900.

The play is full of telling detail, such as Wilde’s penchant for a green carnation in his buttonhole, and is a clever mix of biography and dramatic monologue.

Despite a slow start, Alastair Whatley is a charismatic, nuanced Wilde who deliberately does not give too much away. He delivers finely judged readings from Wilde’s poetry as well as compelling re-enactments of his works including his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, a humorous Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest, and moving renditions of his poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol and letter De Profundis.

It’s simply and effectively directed by Michael Fentiman with minimal props – a lampshade, a letter, and a suspended oval ring suggesting the outline of a mirror, evoking the vanity of Dorian Gray and Wilde’s own self-reflection.

Running over two 45-minute acts, separated by an interval, the demands of a solo show mean our focus occasionally slips, but it’s hard not to be moved by Whatley’s impressively credible and understated performance.

Until August 22
parktheatre.co.uk