The Importance of Being Earliest

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Well, we haven’t done this in a while! The last time we saw this Play was back in July, 2021 at Tolethorpe Hall.

We headed off to Stratford upon Avon and The Bear Pit to see the matinée performance by Am-Dram group, Second Thoughts of The Importance of Being Earnest. It starred good mate and ex-business colleague, Ian McLean in the role of Lane, the faithful long-suffering Butler of the Play’s Algernon Moncrieff.

Thanks to some good advice from Ian, we arrived early to avoid the impact of some extensive local roadworks and the Runaway Mop Fair which threatened to derail our journey into the town.

Well, we got there without any drama apart from some nonsense on the M6 that added 30 minutes to the adventure! 😬 – A really good job that we left early, as after a quick nibble at nearby Lily’s in Rother Street, we only had around 20 minutes before curtain up.

A slightly unusual structure to the performance, but it suited the plot – three acts! 👍

All-in-all a very enjoyable production with (for us) standout performances from ‘Jack’ and ‘Lady Bracknell’ (the part was made for this actress!). Plot-wise, it was, perhaps, a more simplistic offering than we’ve been used to with Second Thoughts – but you can’t beat Oscar Wilde for a reliable plot that just works! Note to self though: Take a cushion next time – those seats were designed for more flexible backs! 😁

Afterwards, we headed off to the nearby Carluccio’s for a quick nibble with Ian and Ann.