Everything you need to know about 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy returns to the West End this autumn starring Stephen Fry and Olly Alexander.

Oscar Wilde’s comedy of upper-class manners, courtship, and double lives The Importance of Being Earnest has been delighting audiences for over a century and it now returns to the West End for a limited run in Max Webster’s colourful production, which was first seen at the National Theatre last year. In a five-star review, LondonTheatre.co.uk’s critic was delighted by the way in which “Webster’s revival isn’t just vibrant, joyous and triumphantly queer, it’s also a thoughtful reclamation of a play that has become far too cosy, matching Wilde’s subversive spirit in every bold creative choice”.

The West End transfer stars Stephen Fry and Olly Alexander and promises to be every bit as joyous. Wilde gave the play the subtitle "a trivial comedy for serious people" and it really has got something for everybody. Read on to learn more about the show and then book your tickets and set off Bunbury-ing – don’t forget your handbag!

Book The Importance of Being Earnest tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest?

The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Wilde remains celebrated as a playwright, novelist, poet, journalist, and wit, as well as a queer icon.

Wilde was born in Dublin to a literary Anglo-Irish family. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and Magdalen College Oxford, after which he moved to London and became an active figure in bohemian society. He published a collection of poems in 1881 and made a lecture tour of America the following year. He became editor of The Woman’s World magazine in 1887 and published his collection of children’s fables The Happy Prince and Other Tales the year after. His gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray appeared in 1891. He married Constance Lloyd in 1884, and they had two sons.

Wilde had his first stage success with the drawing-room comedy Lady Windermere’s Fan in 1892 at St James’ Theatre, followed by A Woman of No Importance (1893) and An Ideal Husband (1895). His work wasn’t always acclaimed by critics but was extremely popular with audiences. Wilde’s work is characterised by his incisive dissection of high society that’s laced with irony and witty epigrams.

Wilde was at the height of his fame when The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed on 14 February 1895 (only five weeks after the premiere of An Ideal Husband). Audiences adored it but his triumph was short-lived. Wilde’s relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas (“Bosie”) made public when he took Bosie’s father, the Marquess of Queensberry, to court for harassment and, in turn, his own activities in the gay underworld were raked through the mud. In an attempt to save the production, the producers removed Wilde's name from the playbills, but it closed on 8 May after 83 performances due to negative public sentiment. The original Broadway production played for 16 performances in April 1895.

Wilde was sentenced to two years’ hard labour for “gross indecency”. He wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol in response to the hanging of a fellow prisoner for murder. Following his release in May 1897, he spent his final years living in poverty in Paris, where he died in 1900.

What is The Importance of Being Earnest about?

The Importance of Being Earnest is about two young men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who both use the name “Ernest” in order to escape from their every-day lives (which involves going “Bunbury-ing” – make of that what you will!). There are also two young ladies in the form of the high-minded Hon Gwendolen Fairfax and excitable heiress Cecily Cardew; a fearsome dowager, and a baby who was left in a handbag at Victoria Station some 30 years previously… We won’t give away the twists here – it’s quite a tangle and is much better experienced on stage! If you enjoy ingeniously constructed farce, this is the show for you.

Who are the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest?

The Importance of Being Earnest features the following cast of characters:

• Jack Worthing: A respectable young gentleman, in love with Gwendolen.
• Algernon Moncrieff: Jack’s friend, a man about town.
• Hon Gwendolen Fairfax: a strong-minded young lady, Jack’s beloved and Algernon’s cousin.
• Cecily Cardew: an orphaned heiress of a romantic disposition and Jack’s ward.
• Lady Bracknell: Gwendolen’s mother and Algernon’s aunt, the embodiment of implacable upper-class Victorian uprightness.
• Rev Canon Chasuble: the fastidious rector of Jack’s parish.
• Miss Prism: Cecily’s governess.
• Lane: Algernon’s valet.
• Merriman: Jack’s butler.

Where is The Importance of Being Earnest being performed?

The Importance of Being Earnest is being performed at the Noël Coward Theatre on St Martin’s Lane, which has a capacity of around 900 seats and opened in 1903 (eight years after The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed).

When is The Importance of Being Earnest being performed?

The Importance of Being Earnest is being performed from Monday to Saturday at 7pm, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:30pm.

How long is The Importance of Being Earnest?

The Importance of Being Earnest is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes long.

Who is in the cast of The Importance of Being Earnest?

The cast of The Importance of Being Earnest is led by Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell. A major public figure known as an actor, writer, director humourist and TV host, Fry has a great deal in common with Wilde himself and played him in the 1997 film Wilde. He is also known for his work with Hugh Laurie and for hosting the quiz show QI. Alexander, meanwhile, is a six-time BRIT Award-nominated pop star who achieved acclaim as an actor for It’s a Sin.

The cast also includes Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Jack), Kitty Hawthorne (Gwendolen), Jessica Whitehurst (Cecily), Hugh Dennis (Rev Canon Chasuble), Shobna Gulati (Miss Prism), and Hayley Carmichael (Lane/Merriman).

Who is in The Importance of Being Earnest creative team?

The Importance of Being Earnest is directed by Max Webster (Donmar Warehouse’s Macbeth, Life of Pi) with set and costume design by Rae Smith (Barber Shop Chronicles, War Horse), lighting design by Jon Clark (Tony winner for The Lehman Trilogy and Olivier winner for The Inheritance), sound design by Nicola T Chang (For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy), and movement direction by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (Our Generation).

What are some fun facts about The Importance of Being Earnest?

• Wilde published the text of The Importance of Being Earnest from Paris in 1897, following his release from prison. His name did not appear on the volume – it was published as “By the author of Lady Windermere’s Fan”.
• It has been argued that Wilde’s chief inspiration for the play was W.S. Gilbert’s 1877 farce Engaged, which was most recently seen in London at the Orange Tree Theatre in 2002.
• There is a history of Lady Bracknell being played by a male performer. Patrick Fyffe (as Dame Hilda Bracket of the female impersonating double act Hinge and Bracket), David Suchet, and Gyles Brandreth are among the gentleman to have previously inhabited her upholstered frocks and big feathered hats.
• The many indomitable women to have played Lady Bracknell include Edith Evans, Penelope Keith, Patricia Routledge, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Sian Phillips – it can’t be a coincidence that they all became Dames of the British Empire. Most recently at the National Theatre, the role was played by Sharon D Clarke – surely a Dame in waiting.

Book The Importance of Being Earnest tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Olly Alexander in The Importance of Being Earnest. (Courtesy of production)