It's Anthony Asquith, not Michael Balcon who directed EARNEST.
And I'd forgotten that when the Stratford Festival transferred its gorgeous 2010 (?) production starring Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell, it was filmed and shown....where? Great Performances? Broadway HD? I was disappointed that the expert duo of Ben Carlson and Mike Shara did not get to reprise their Jack and Algy on Broadway, but David Furr and Santino Fontana were excellent replacements and Dana Ivey and Paxton Whitehead were luxury casting for Prism and Chasuble.
In addition to Bedford's preening Bracknell, Sara Topham was aa terrific Gwendolyn (easy to imagine her transformation into her mother) and the outrageous picturesqueness of the late Desmond Heeley's design were all both brought down from Canada and greatly appreciated on Broadway.
If only William Hutt's legendary 1976-1977-1980 performances as Lady Bracknell had been filmed!
That great direction Robin Phillips gave him: "She can move through a room without upsetting one speck of dust." (In the photo below you can see that direction in action just by looking at his face.) |
