The Importance of Being Earnest

Editorial

When: 7 October - 7 November 2010
Where: Darlinghurst Theatre
Tickets: Darlinghurst Theatre or call (02) 8356 9987

A seemingly flippant comedy about the constraints of morality and the cost of living a double life, The Importance of Being Earnest is widely acclaimed as Oscar Wilde's masterpiece, and is truly a play for the ages. Bursting with witty dialogue and ridiculous situations, this fanciful story of monstrous mothers, abandoned babies found in handbags, and increasingly madcap social deceptions cleverly skewers the stuffy Victorian morality of Wilde's day, and has remained an audience favourite around the globe since its premiere in London in 1895.

Having previously directed Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, a box office hit in 2009, director Nicholas Papademetriou returns to the Darlinghurst Theatre with this all new production of The Importance of Being Earnest, with a cast including Martin Harper, Chantelle Jamieson, and Linda Cropper as the indomitable Lady Bracknell.

Just as Wilde did, the production breaks away from convention to set the play in London of the 1930s, an altogether more permissible time than the stiff-backed and straight-laced Victorian period it was written in.

"Wilde's satire is perennially relevant and his writing promotes an effortless theatricality that can be set in any era. By setting it in the 1930's this production will bristle with a relaxed sensuality, both in the playing and the casting", says Papademetriou.

The setting may change but the wit and wisdom of Wilde's writing, and his brilliant dissection of English social rituals and customs, remain. Don't miss this wicked new production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Richard Watts, Citysearch