"The Importance of being Earnest (in Quarantine)" by Oscar Wilde and Cecilia Coleshaw (18 Feb 2021)

Poster

It's Covid season, and on the MS Oscar Wilde, all theatrical performances have been cancelled. Stewing in the ludicrously tiny cabins on board the ship, and unable to leave for fear of being infected by the vile virus, the passengers and crew take it upon themselves to stage a socially distanced, online production, of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Will their journey end in tears, or, horror of horrors, in the creation of yet another am-dram group, this one set loose upon the high seas? A must-see for all those who have ever had the misfortune to be locked down or in quarantine!

The Show

Reviews
“Well done everyone – fantastic show and an imaginative setting!  Very much enjoyed with many chuckles” Alastair D

“Hi everyone, very well done last night, I thought it really was the best yet” Ian T

“Enormous fun. Congratulations on the whole project. Technically really great, with the backgrounds very lush and specific. It was so enjoyable, with fine actors and a good pace and high energy. Mr O. Wilde would have been proud to be associated with this interpretation.” RA

“Another wonderful production and a great deal of talent on show.  I can see why you all enjoy being a part of St Michael's Players.”  JA

“Very well produced and acted, and the play within a play on a quarantined cruise ship was a brilliant idea.” RB

“Very entertaining - and well executed.  Congratulations all round.” IK and EK

“My daughters [aged 4 and 6] were transfixed. Their favourite character was Cecily. They liked her hat.” NP

“Excellent 😊.  Really enjoyed. thank you. So clever” Monica K

“We enjoyed the play last night. Great backgrounds. Well done all” Alison & Simon H

“That was just brilliant, Guy. Cleverly done, excellent backgrounds, props costumes and, best of all, great acting. You were excellent! Should we correct the spelling of our street name now?” Karen J 

“Hi Guy, that was great. We loved it! Better than some of the stuff on BBC and much more fun! Great sets as well.” Tony & Carol P

“Well done, play within a play, it was brilliant! And worked so well on Zoom, what fun, we much enjoyed it! Thanks so much!” Bhardwaj Family

“Well done to you all. Most enjoyable” Gerry and Barbara W

“We thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's performance - a very imaginative production. Congratulations to all concerned. We've been looking to see if you had a link where we were supposed to pay for watching but couldn't find one.” Alison N

“Just watched the importance of being Ernest. Loved it. Enjoyed it very much. It was a good premise to be on the ship in quarantine. A nice twist and a nice way of breaking up the play and making it relevant. Well done to everyone” Katrina D

“What fun!  That was a wonderful performance - thank you for such an enjoyable evening.  (As for that cat at the beginning, I nearly fell off my chair laughing!) My congratulations to all the cast and hoping to see you all again before too long,” Robin E

​“Yesssssss to another Play. This was awesome. Please relay my applause.  Many thanks so very enjoyable. Loved it.” Frances D’L

"Great fun - the staging as Quarantine/lockdown staging worked well." Caroline M

"Delightful and so cheering.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and am full of admiration for you all.  It must have been very difficult but the acting was great, writing very clever, imaginative costumes – can’t imagine how difficult it was to get those backgrounds and all the technical side right.  Very well done indeed to all and look forward to the next one." Pat

"Fabulous. I thought the tech was really clever. Great backgrounds too. Xx"

"Tremendous fun - and so cleverly put together! Well done Cress!"

"Really good and spirited performances! Looked fabulous too 👊👏👏👏"

"Thoroughly enjoyed it!  Many many Congratulations!!"

"We so enjoyed your play. So clever and so well executed. And very funny. Just the job, thank you xx"

"Just realised that I haven’t said how much mum and I enjoyed the play. It was really well done and using the Zoom backgrounds was very clever." Sarah

"It made my day and made me laugh a lot. Thanks Cress going to share it with friends here now." Christine in Spain

Cast

Cast: In Earnest
John Worthing, J.P. (Guy Fairbank)
Algernon Moncrieff (David Burles)
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. (Neil Dickins)
Merriman, Butler (Chris Hulatt)
Lane, Manservant (Cecilia Coleshaw)
Lady Bracknell (Bryony Wilman)
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
Cecily Cardew (Stella Henney)
Miss Prism, Governess (Cressida Strauss)

Cast: In quarantine
Ship’s Captain (Chris Hulatt)
Debbie, Ship’s Entertainment Manager (Stella Henney)
Deesh, Ship’s IT Manager (Deesh Mariwala)
Pete, Steward (Guy Fairbank)
Kate, Passenger (Cressida Strauss)
Celia, Passenger (Cecilia Coleshaw)
Alexandra, Beauty Salon Manager (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
Charlie, 1st class passenger (David Burles)
Ned, American passenger  (Neil Dickins)
Verity, Passenger (Bryony Wilman)

Crew

Director (Deesh Mariwala)
Technical guru (Ian Trowbridge)
Script Wrangler (Cecilia Coleshaw)