The Brisbane Festival takes place this year from 5 to 26 September 2015. Wild Rice will be headed to the festival from 11 to 13 September with its all-male production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The production will headline a series of works from Singapore.
The festival’s new Artistic Director David Berthold has programmed for his first Brisbane Festival to mark Singapore’s 50th independence anniversary.
The cast is led by Brendon Fernandez and Daniel York as well as W!LD RICE Founding Artistic Director Ivan Heng in the role of the formidable matriarch, Lady Bracknell. Chua Enlai, Gavin Yap and Hossan Leong will take on the challenge of playing Wilde’s female characters – as men – with Lim Kay Siu and Crispian Chan rounding out the ensemble.
The String Quartet from the Queensland Conservatorium will accompany the cast with Henry Justo (Viola), Johnny van Gend and Liam Keneally (Violin) and Julian Sharp (Cello).
The set is designed by Ivan Heng, with lighting by Mac Chan, costumes by Frederick Lee, hair by Ashley Lim, make-up by M.A.C. and sound design by Shah Tahir.
The Importance of Being Earnest first opened in Singapore in 2009. It was re-staged in 2013 due to popular demand here in Singapore and played to full houses at the Macao Arts Festival in 2014.
W!LD RICE will also present a free staged reading of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde on 12 September as part of the Festival’s programme.
This play tells the story of the scandal surrounding the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde. Characters ranging from George Bernard Shaw and Queen Victoria to London’s rent boys stir up an explosive mix of ideas touching on sex, the role of art and literature in society, public morality and censorship.
The Importance of Being Earnest is produced by Tony Trickett. Tickets to the play can be purchased from brisbanefestival.com.au or Qtix 136246.
There will be four sessions:
- 11 September 2015, 7.30pm
- 12 September 2015, 2pm and 7.30pm
- 13 September 2015, 12pm
