Fringe: To Hell In A Handbag ***

Assembly Rooms, (Venue 20)

Aug 16-21, 23-27, 12.25pm

Amid the hubbub of the Fringe, this is a gentle step back to a time when reputation was all important.

It takes two characters from Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’ and puts them centre stage to flesh out their own back stories, and their common ambition. Money.

It’s a two-hander, starring Jonathon White and Helen Norton, the man of the cloth and the governess whose lives turn out to be far more intertwined, and clandestine, than would appear.

Set on a small stage which takes it firmly back to the days of Wilde, it’s a play within his classic play, and a delight too.

Both characters are prim, middle aged and considered to be pillars of the community, but, that respectability is unpicked scene by scene, … thing most definitely ain’t what they seem, but neither character is entirely up front about their own secrets or motivations.

It’s a delightful period piece, perfectly played by the highly experienced duo who pack a huge amount into an hour.