THEATRE PREVIEW: Oscar Wilde Season LIVE: A Woman of No Importance

Theatre goers in Spalding can enjoy a live screening of the latest play in the Oscar Wilde Season Live series, A Woman of No Importance, at South Holland Centre on Tuesday, July 3, at 7.15pm.

The play stars award-winning actress Eve Best (Nurse Jackie, The King’s Speech) as Mrs Arbuthnot, Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Dinnerladies) as Lady Hunstanton, Eleanor Bron (Alfie, The Archers) and William Gaunt (The Champions, No Place Like Home).

Dramatised by Classic Spring Theatre Company, A Woman of No Importance is the second of four plays by Oscar Wilde screened live to South Holland Centre between June and October (read a review of An Ideal Husband here) .

Another member of the cast is American actress Crystal Clarke who plays the role of Hester Worsley fresh from being seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, as well as Assassin’s Creed starring Michael Fassbender and the Natalie Portman film, Annihilation.

Crystal, most recently seen in the BBC TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'Ordeal by Innocence', said: “I went in to read for the play’s director, Dominic Dromgoole, and we hit it off.

“We had a wonderful chat about Oscar Wilde’s tour around America and I was really excited about the America that Hester represented.

“She expresses such optimism and good intention that is easy to forget was true of the country in its infancy.

"Wilde saw this and so he uses Hester to call out the aristocracy and its willingness to “live in idleness itself on the work of weak hands…", along with its superficiality.

"Unfortunately, America has gotten lost along the way and so Hester, as a portrait of its initial intentions, really struck a chord with me."

Crystal, originally from New Jersey, trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow where she acted out a scene from Romeo and Juliet in front of Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson and her Scottish mother Phyllida Law when she graduated.

“It was such an amazing experience,” Crystal said.

“In my first year, I was performing a monologue from Emma’s adaption of Sense and Sensibility (by Jane Austen) in class and then in my second year, I’m all of a sudden writing a speech with Professor Maggie Kinloch (deputy principal of RSAMD) to honour Emma and Phyllida.

“It was such an inspiration for me and one I certainly needed at the time.

"The biggest difference between theatre schools in the UK and the USA is that British drama schools have an accreditation system.

"While there are so many places to study in the USA, you don't have that same comfort in knowing that you're getting your money's worth.

"Also, you have to be in a position to afford the best schools and have the grades to be accepted to them.

"A lot of that comes down to the socio-economic inequality which puts many students at a disadvantage from the get-go, myself included.

"There is a similar occurrence happening the UK which I can only imagine getting worse with university price increases.

"This is hugely unfortunate for the arts because what are the creative industries without diverse backgrounds and, therefore, experiences?"

Crystal has also been inspired by fellow cast members from A Woman of No Importance which explores themes of gender equality, social hypocrisy and the role of women during the Victorian era.

She said: “I’ve learned so much from watching them work and the rehearsal room was certainly a masterclass in how to approach theatre.

“However, sharing a dressing room with Emma Fielding (Mrs Allonby) has been my favourite thing though because she’s so intelligent, kind and funny.

“I’ve learned a lot from her and we have these lovely discussions about a range of topics, from acting through to the colonisation of America.

“I think that’s one of the best things you can learn in this industry - the ability to engage with people in a genuine way.

“Oscar Wilde is just as widely known and appreciated across the pond as he is over here because great art is universal.”

For tickets to see A Woman of No Importance, call South Holland Centre's Box Office on 01775 764777.