The Masks of Oscar Wilde

“The Masks of Oscar Wilde” by Shaul Ezer with C.E. Gatchalian, is now playing at the Arts Club Revue Theatre, presented by Matchmaker Productions in association with the frank theatre company. The finely printed programme in the lobby quotes the playwright: “Heavy on lecture and light on theatricals."

It opens with a slide show on a 32” tv screen & paper bird finger-puppets. The Happy Prince is telling a story about a little swallow, and proceeds through the six masks that he wore: poet, aesthete, martyr, etc. I wish I could’ve taken a little swallow everytime I heard that, but the bar was closed.

You never really see nor hear any of these masks, costumes, characterisation and accents are either all over the place, or non-existent at all. My favorite character on stage was the sign-language deaf interpreter. The actor guy almost sawed the air in half as much as she did.

This production is like watching a junior high school sex-ed class super-8 movie. No passion. No poetry. No naughtiness. No flamboyance. No Wilde.

 [Editorial Notes: 1) Per the reference to a sign-language deaf interpreter - three performances of this play featured ASL interpretation; 2) The actors in the performance were Sean Harris Oliver and Tamara McCarthy; and 3) The Revue Theatre is operated by the Arts Club Theatre and its operation includes occasional rentals to other organizations.]