Following huge critical acclaim at the National Theatre, this production will transfer to London's West End from September 2025.
★★★★★
'A sparkling new production... that's fiercely faithful to Wilde's wickedly subversive spirit'
Daily Mail
BOOK HERE.
The National Theatre's sold-out production of The Importance of Being Earnest transfers to the Noël Coward Theatre this Autumn, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions.
Olly Alexander (It’s A Sin) plays Algernon Moncrieff in director Max Webster‘s (Donmar’s Macbeth; Life of Pi) joyful and flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s ‘glittering masterpiece’ (Telegraph), a hilarious story of identity, impersonation and romance.
★★★★
'Oscar Wilde's glittering masterpiece'
The Telegraph
Being sensible can be excessively boring. At least Jack thinks so. While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity.
Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade. Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love.
Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.
★★★★★
'An anarchically camp rewilding of Wilde'
Time Out
CAST
OLLY ALEXANDER – Algernon Moncrieff
NATHAN STEWART-JARRETT - Jack Worthing
HUGH DENNIS - Reverend Canon Chausuble
SHOBNA GULATI - Miss Prism
KITTY HAWTHORNE - Gwendolen Fairfax
JESSICA WHITEHURST - Cecily Cardew
HAYLEY CARMICHAEL - Lane/Merriman
STEPHEN FRY - Lady Bracknell
JASMINE KERR - Ensemble / Understudy Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew
SAM LIU - Ensemble / Understudy Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff
GILLIAN MCCAFFERTY - Ensemble / Understudy Lady Bracknell and Miss Prism
ELLIOT PRITCHARD - Ensemble / Understudy Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing
LIV SPENCER - Ensemble / Understudy Reverend Canon Chasuble and Merriman/Lane
CREATIVES
MAX WEBSTER – Director
RAE SMITH – Set & Costume Designer
JON CLARK – Lighting Designer
NICOLA T. CHANG – Sound Designer
CARRIE-ANNE INGROUILLE – Movement Director
DJ WALDE – Composer
JOYCE ANDERSON – Physical Comedy Advisor
INGRID MACKINNON – Intimacy Coordinator
ALASTAIR COOMER CGD – Casting Director
HAZEL HOLDER – Dialect Coach
SHEREEN IBRAHIM – Voice Coach