The Importance of Being Earnest

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I know…I felt the same way at first. Was Wilde’s perfectly constructed comedy to be steamrolled by slapstick? A play that pivots around mistaken identities is confusing enough, but with men playing female parts, surely this would get into the man-playing- woman-playing-man madness of Shakespeare-era theatre?

My fears were groundless. Glen Goei, the associate artistic director for W!ld Rice – the group famous for reinterpreting modern classics and producing pieces that are as entertaining as they are challenging – came up with the idea of an all-male cast for Earnest. And, more importantly, he has pulled it off.

The all-Asian production (the accomplished Daniel York, who plays John Worthing, is half-Singaporean, while the rest of the cast is Singaporean or Malaysian) steers well clear of farce and the men aren’t in drag. Ivan Heng, the group’s charismatic artistic director – who makes a long-awaited return to the stage as Lady Bracknell – was also confused at first: ‘When Glen told me about the part, my response was “Finally! But wait…I don’t get to wear a dress?”’

Gavin Yap, Chua Enlai and Daniel York

Fresh from finishing up post-production on his second feature film – ‘noir comedy’ The Blue Mansion – the theatre and film director jumped straight into a three-week rehearsal period for Earnest. ‘We’re doing this not just to celebrate the work, but to celebrate the man,’ Goei explains. ‘This was the last play that Wilde wrote, and the last thing he wrote before he “came out”. So we’re celebrating the courage of the man for being true to himself, hence “the importance of being earnest.”’

But there was a far more important hook that led Goei on the path to conceive this adaptation. About 18 months ago, the Singapore Parliament debated a repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code (a ban on sex between men), a remnant of British colonial law. Though an adjoining section (377) was repealed by Parliament for heterosexual couples, sex between men remains a criminal offence.

It was the disappointing response from the public that most upset Goei. ‘It’s a symbol of the culture of fear we’re living in; many didn’t sign the petition for fear that their parents would know, or their employers – or, most importantly, the Government, who could blacklist them as potential criminals.’

The global recession hit the same month, and Goei felt that traditional institutions had failed us. ‘We’re wondering: How are we going to get out of this, and who do we trust anymore? The only way is through creative thinking. But here we have a system in which we celebrate conformity and uniformity. So we find ourselves scrabbling and not able to find a solution.’

Director Glen Goei

This production is Goei’s response to this confusion. And there are intriguing parallels: Wilde wrote his last play within the conservative parameters of Victorian England – like gay men in modern-day Singapore, the playwright had restrictions of his own. Some comfort can be taken from the fact that Wilde could never have staged an adaptation like Goei’s. But it’s not all plain sailing today; W!ld Rice has had educational funding withdrawn after the production was made to carry an over-16 advisory.

So what will the audience take from the production? ‘At the end of the day, it’s all about entertainment,’ Goei says. ‘I want people to come out of the auditorium having had a great time, a great night out, having enjoyed the story, the wit and the language. Everything else is secondary to that.’

But I think they will get it. After only minutes of watching one of the first rehearsals, where I witnessed the female-role actors slowly discovering the physicality of their parts, I was amazed at how quickly gender became insignificant. The men were performing female roles; just as we all engage in myriad forms of role-play in our public lives. Gender is, after all, just another construct, like sexuality. Which is just what Goei wants his audiences to realise.