We know the classics too well. The lines have become so familiar that we fail to really listen, hearing only what we expect and want to hear. One of the virtues of Ridiculusmus's production, directed by Jude Kelly, is that it makes you hear every line afresh. The other is that it is exceptionally funny - although not always because of the words that Wilde wrote.
Wilde's subtitle becomes: "A trivial comedy performed by two serious people." The serious people are Jon Hayes and David Woods, who have mined the madness of contemporary life in Say Nothing about Northern Ireland and Ideas Men. Wilde's play is suited to their style, but Ridiculusmus go further still: they toy with the ideas of performance that underlie Wilde's play in which everyone has a role dictated by social hierarchy and status. They strip it down and reveal the social coding in all its glorious absurdity.
Hayes and Woods play all the roles as if they were a couple of endearing but shambolic amateurs, on a set that looks like a kitsch designer's idea of Victoriana. Characters are introduced with blasts of music: you can guess who gets The Ride of the Valkeries and who gets The Teddy Bear's Picnic.
Since little text is cut there are pauses as the actors change their costumes, and ingenious solutions are required to deal with the presence of several characters on stage at the same time. Much of the fun comes from this performance of putting on a performance, including a dig at the RSC propensity for ending period shows with a little dance. Purists and those unfamiliar with the play may be bemused and irritated, but this handbagging more than justifies itself.
· Until July 9. Box office: 0845 120 7515.
