“BUNBURY” at Diversionary Theatre
Airdate: 05/25/07
Today, literature lovers, we’re going Bunburying. But first, we have to talk about who Bunbury is… or isn’t.
He’s a fictitious character in a work of fiction -- “The Importance of
Being Earnest,” beloved masterwork of the brilliant Victorian Oscar Wilde. In
the play, Algernon, a wealthy
Given Wilde’s own wildness, as a closeted,
flamboyant and ultimately imprisoned homosexual, some say ‘Bunburying’
is code for the double life of gay men. So, a play called “Bunbury”
fits right into Diversionary Theatre,
As one of many smart, literary in-jokes, the new
work is subtitled “a serious play for trivial people,” which also ‘takes a walk
on the Wilde side’; “The Importance of Being Earnest” is subtitled “A Trivial
Comedy for Serious People.” The two plays share some characters, but there is a
dramatic difference of focus. Wilde’s piece is a comedy of manners and a clever
skewering of his society. “Bunbury” is more like a
mannered comedy.
The play’s
means don’t quite justify its far-fetched end, but the journey is a trip.
At the outset, we meet the prissy, fluttery Bunbury,
at home with his butler. A mysterious Renaissance visitor pushes her way in,
and she turns out to be another plot device -- Rosaline, the first love of
Romeo who, like Bunbury (and many other characters we
encounter), never appears in the play that spawned her. Still, Rosaline pines
for Romeo, Bunbury pines for Algernon, and pretty
soon, they’re busting into other pieces of literature, creating happy endings
willy-nilly, and maybe even changing the world.
So Romeo and Juliet live to tell their tale,
trapped in a humdrum, kid-strapped marriage., while in other witty/crazy
scenes, we witness the long-awaited arrival of Godot;
Blanche DuBois’ asthenic
young husband has a fling with Bunbury; and the
“little bugger” of a son, imagined by George and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf,” shows up, too. The more you know of literature, the funnier
the riffs are. There are a few too many of them, though; one 90-minute act
could certainly convey the playwright’s intent, more swiftly and skillfully.
But the literary references and the self-referential language fly by fast and
furious, and some of it is truly inspired.
The cast is funny and multi-talented, with David McBean pitch-perfect as the snooty but lovelorn Bunbury; and Melissa Fernandes a
hoot as Rosaline, and several other characters. The ever-adaptable ensemble of
eight takes on some 23 eclectic and eccentric personas, with lightning-fast
costume changes that are amazing and amusing. As directed by Esther Emery, the
play is a comical, sometimes campy, often intellectual romp. Not much deep or
lasting significance. It’s strictly for quick-witted fun, not for trivial people.
©2007 Patté Productions, Inc.
“Bunbury,“ continues at Diversionary Theatre through June 17