It’s always a thrill to see a Doctor Who actor on stage, showing the breadth and brilliance of the performers in the show. It’s doubly exciting when it’s an actual Doctor Who. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed performances by Tom Baker in the 1994 production of Arsenic and Old Lace at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, and Peter Davison in The Decorator in 1992 (also at the Yvonne Arnaud).
I also bumped into Sylvester McCoy in the toilets during the interval of Mother Courage and Her Children at the National Theatre in 2008. I’m not sure what he was doing in the loo amounts to a ‘performance’, but I think it still counts.
Of the revived series, I’ve seen David Tennant several times, most recently in Good at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2022. But the most mind-blowing was seeing two Doctors on stage: Christopher Eccleston and Jodie Whittaker in the 2012 National Theatre production of Antigone.
The most surprising thing was neither of them turned into an Androgum, although I did wait backstage after, planning to wrestle Eccleston to the ground and adhere bushy ginger eyebrows to his face. Chris never showed. He must have used the Kartz-Reimer module to evacuate. Which sounds like a euphemism for what Sylvester was up to in the toilet cubicle in 2008.
Oh and I also saw some bloke called Jon Pertwee live on stage in something called Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1989. Does that count?
Knowing my fandomic obsession, my wife tried to book The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ncuti Gatwa as a Christmas treat for me but – unsurprisingly – all the affordable seats had sold out to NT members.
This was disappointing, but it became more infuriating after a revelation on Christmas Day… We watched Joy to the World as an extended family. Kids, my wife, and I loving it; my mum snoozing; her parents bringing out piles of snacks that we didn’t need after a dinner that would have defeated even the most ravenous Androgum… (We ate them all anyway, of course.)
Then, at the end, my wife’s father asked: “Who was the guy playing Doctor Who?” When I told him, he looked blank. So, knowing his love of theatre, I replied that Gatwa is performing in The Importance of Being Earnest at the National at the moment. “Oh,” he replied. “We’re seeing that on New Year’s Day.” Great. Merry Christmas.
They reported back after that it was brilliant, so we decided to secure tickets at all costs. The National Theatre’s website has something called Friday Rush, where a limited amount of tickets are available from 1pm on a Friday at £10 a pop.
We duly logged on in anticipation and found ourselves waiting in the online queue for five hours. In that time, we could have watched the entirety of Jodie Whittaker’s last season, Flux. Instead, we started at a holding screen for 296 minutes as the numbers counted down from 8,765 to one. Which was a surprisingly more coherent and enjoyable experience. Eventually, we booked standing tickets for a matinee performance. Maybe not the best seats (in fact, no seats at all) but at last we were going…
And what a joy it was. Camp, ridiculous, but highly entertaining. Max Webster’s luscious period dress production is a delightfully joyful adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy of manners and Ncuti Gatwa’s portrayal of Algernon is a standout.
Anyone who thinks that the casting of Ncuti Gatwa was some kind of ‘diversity hire’ or woke gesture really needs to watch this performance. Gatwa simply lights up the stage; he dazzles and delights. Tom Baker once described Jon Pertwee’s performance as the Doctor as, “like a tall light bulb – he glitters”. Given that Gatwa has compared his sartorially slutty portrayal of the Time Lord to the Third Doctor, this description of Tom’s could equally apply to him.
Rae Smith’s garish set and costume design is nothing short of magnificent. The costumes are over-the-top and perfectly match the tone of the play, while the set transitions are a visual delight. While some purists may take issue with the modern updates and occasional liberties taken with the text, they ultimately serve to enhance this magnificent production.
The play featured an outstanding cast, including Hugh Skinner as Jack Worthing, who expertly ramps up the comedy alongside Gatwa. Meanwhile, Sharon D Clarke as the formidable Lady Bracknell, steals every scene she is in, despite her limited stage time. The chemistry between Gatwa and Skinner is a highlight, and the supporting cast provides strong performances across the board.
And there are many more familiar faces from Doctor Who in the cast: Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Gwendolen Fairfax) played Penny in two Twelfth Doctor stories: Extremis and The Pyramid at the End of the World. Richard Cant (Reverend Cannon Chasuble) played Malcolm Wainwright in Blink. He’s also the son of Brian Cant, who played Kert Gantry in The Daleks’ Master Plan and Tensa in The Dominators. Sharon D Clarke (Lady Bracknell) will be very familiar to Thirteenth Doctor era fans; she played Grace O’Brien, Ryan’s grandmother and Graham’s wife, in five episodes, most notably The Woman Who Fell to Earth. Amanda Lawrence (Miss Prism) played Mother Doomfinger – under layers of latex – in The Shakespeare Code.
Another face that might not be as familiar as his voice is Julian Bleach (butlers Merriman and Lane) who memorably brought Davros back to life in the revived series in The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End and The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar before appearing unmasked in the Children In Need special, Destination: Skaro.
The play enjoyed a sold-out at the Lyttelton Theatre from 21 November last year until 25 January. But fear not, The Importance of Being Earnest is being screened in cinemas across the country starting on 20 February. You can find a local showing here. Now on the big screen in COLOUR! — it promises to be a treat.
