Is Stephen Fry the right choice to play Lady Bracknell?

Spectator

7 days ago

Last year, the National Theatre staged The Importance of Being Earnest in a new production by Max Webster. It attracted mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, who applauded its determination to do something new – to re-queer Wilde for a younger audience, if you like – but also dared to suggest that Ncuti Gatwa, who played Algernon Moncrieff, was not the most comfortable casting for Wilde's protagonist. Still, Gatwa is a big name and pulled in the crowds, and so it was little surprise that, for the play's inevitable West End transfer, similarly starry names had to be produced. The first was Olly Alexander, the pop singer and actor, and now it has been revealed that none other than Sir Stephen Fry, the recently knighted national treasure himself, will be donning drag to play Lady Bracknell.
The idea of male actors playing one of Wilde's greatest roles is nothing particularly surprising. Over the past few years, Geoffrey Rush and David Suchet have both given their Bracknells, as it were, and the idea of a superb classical actor taking on such a dynamic part is an exciting opportunity. Fry, however, is nobody's idea of a leading classical actor. His last major role on stage was as Malvolio in the Globe's Twelfth Night in 2012, and although he received decent notices, he was overshadowed by Mark Rylance as Olivia. (It was, naturally, an all-male production, something that would be almost inconceivable now.)
Otherwise, he has largely opted for television and film over theatre, to mixed returns. His performance as Wilde in the eponymous 1997 film was a triumph of humanity, wit and obvious identification with the great playwright. Other roles have been less obviously distinguished. And of course he has his own unhappy associations with the theatre. Notoriously, he fled to Brussels in 1995 after being upset by the reviews for his performance in Simon Gray's Cell Mates, a saga of which his website now says, 'The experience still haunts him, but the depression has now faded to embarrassment and the anger to forgiveness.'
Let us hope that Fry's return to the stage this autumn makes for a happier experience. He has a clear identification with Wilde and his works, and said of his casting that 'Oscar Wilde has been a hugely important figure in my life and career and The Importance of Being Earnest is a play that changed my life when I first saw it aged ten. It made me understand what language can do and absolutely transported me. Wilde is a beacon to people who still believe in open thinking and adventuring with the mind and spirit.'
Few would disagree. Yet there is another question to be asked, too. The role of Lady Bracknell was played at the National by Sharon D Clarke, a fine actress of infinite range, and it seems a strange decision not to at least consider bringing Clarke back, or at the very least casting another grande dame of London theatre in the role to balance Alexander – another actor who has not appeared on stage in over a decade – in the lead. I would have loved to have seen, say, Cate Blanchett or Gillian Anderson in the part, or if the role had to be cast with a man, what someone like Roger Allam or, indeed, Mark Rylance would have done with the Lady.
Still, perhaps it is not worth being too exercised by this piece of stunt casting. The Importance of Being Earnest is like London buses, or the Holy Trinity – you wait ages for one, and then three come along at once – and there will undoubtedly be another, more traditional production in due course. (Also, the casting of that great comedian Hugh Dennis as Canon Chasuble could be a coup.) Yet I fear that this is pandering to West End audiences who demand Big Stars at all costs. Fry is clearly a great lover of all things Wilde, and this may be a dream come true for him. Likewise, his presence will bring in the crowds, just as Gatwa's did. However, whether they were really the best actors for the role, or just the most bankable names, is a question that hangs over this particular Earnest.