Hobnob to debut first play in new Main Street studio
Most of the scenes in Oscar Wilde’s 1895 play “The Importance of Being Earnest” take place in the characters’ living rooms or in small outdoor gardens, which are perfect settings for the Hobnob Theatre Company to adapt in its new space.
Hobnob’s production of the play debuts Friday, March 15, and it will be the company’s first full production in its new space at 134 S. Main St. in Butler, a black box theater with about 1,000 square feet.
Duane Peters, director of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” said the small space will help immerse viewers into the story of the play.
“Total number of cast is nine, and that has presented a unique situation because the Hobnob is not very big,” Peters said. “It's tight when they're all on at the same time … the audience is sort of like they're right there in the living room or right there in the garden.”
According to Peters, the play’s subtitle is, “A trivial play for serious people.” He said it is a humorous play that is poking fun at the aristocrats of the late-1800s Victorian society.
“Oscar Wilde himself resents some of the things Victorian society has done to him,” Peters said. “He points out the triviality of the aristocrats and their focus on minutiae or trivial things like what type of cake or tea and whether or not people have a house on the right side of the street in the right neighborhood.”
The play runs March 15 to 17 and March 21 to 24, but most of the performances are sold out, according to the theater company’s Facebook page. For tickets, visit hobnobtheatre.com.
