Hellooo! Way back in March I took a trip over to the Manchester Opera House to see The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde! For some reason got half way through this review and never finished it so today, mission 'catch up on my blog posts' continues! I attended the Wednesday matinee performance and although I've only ever seen musicals, the fact that Kerry Ellis was playing Gwendolen Fairfax caught my attention! I saw it as an opportunity to see her on stage again and also experience my first play! I booked my ticket earlier on in the week and chose seat B 23 in the stalls. They had tickets for £15 plus fees for under 25's so in total my ticket cost £20.90 which I thought was a bargain! I was sat slightly to the left but the view (which for some reason I forgot to take a picture of) was perfect, there was loads of legroom and it was pretty comfy!
I walked into the show knowing very little about what it was about and was intrigued by the fact that the show had two intervals. I really liked the costumes and sets throughout the show as they suited the time period really well. I also liked how the show was centred around the performers and their characters rather than elaborate sets which wouldn't have worked with this production. Again, the sound and lighting were simple, allowing the performers and the script to take centre stage. Oh and of course I grabbed a programme for £4 (I think).
All the actors were well suited to their characters and I particularly enjoyed seeing Kerry Ellis' performance in a non-singing role and Louise Coulthard's performance as Cecily Cardew. I enjoyed the story and loved the uplifting ending and how everything was tied up to complete the play. I'm not sure plays are for me just yet as I just love musicals but for someone who didn't know what to expect, I rather enjoyed it! The language during the show did take a bit of getting used to but I adjusted to it fairly easily and it didn't stop me from understanding the story.
I also got talking to the girl sat next to me who was lovely and a fellow Kerry Ellis fan! As a 21 (at the time) year old, I felt a bit awkward as I wasn't in the same demographic as most of the other audience members as that particular performance so it was nice to chat to someone like me for a bit! Following the show, we went to the stage door to see if we could meet any of the cast and luckily enough, Kerry Ellis was nice enough to stop for a couple of minutes and was lovely!
Overall it was a nice uplifting afternoon at the theatre and although I'm still not sure I'm sold on plays, I did enjoy it as it wasn't too heavy or intense. Oh and I loved meeting Kerry Ellis after the show!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
