National Theatre Live Screening: The Importance of Being Earnest
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 3pm
A production from National Theatre
Running time: 2 hours and 50 minutes including a 15-minute interval.
Please note: This production contains strong language and suggestive content.
Gwendolen Fairfax: Ronke Adékoluéjó
Merriman / Lane: Julian Bleach
Ensemble: Shereener Browne
Reverend Canon Chasuble: Richard Cant
Lady Bracknell: Sharon D Clarke
Algernon Moncrieff: Ncuti Gatwa
Ensemble: Jasmine Kerr
Miss Prism: Amanda Lawrence
Ensemble: Gillian McCafferty
Ensemble: Elliot Pritchard
Cecily Cardew: Eliza Scanlen
Jack Worthing: Hugh Skinner
Director: Max Webster
Set and Costume: Rae Smith
Lighting Designer: Jon Clark
Sound Designer: Nicola T. Chang
Movement Director: Carrie-Anne Ingrouille
Composer: DJ Walde
Physical Comedy Advisor: Joyce Henderson
Intimacy Coordinator: Ingrid Mackinnon
Director for Screen: Matthew Amos
Lighting Director: Gemma O’Sullivan
Sound Supervisor: Conrad Fletcher
Script Supervisor: Vicky Edmonds
An extract from Sos Eltis’ article in the National Theatre’s program for The Importance of Being Earnest.
It is in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) that Wilde’s doctrine of individualism and creative self-realisation finds its ultimate expression. Its men and women are equally creatures of appetite and joyful fantasy, whether scoffing cucumber sandwiches and buttered muffins, or declaring that 17 years of chastity are out of the question as ‘I hate waiting even five minutes for anybody’. Everyone lives a double life, escaping the constrictions of propriety and responsibility, whether through their sensational diary or their three-volume novel of ‘more than usually revolting sentimentality’ or by having an imaginary friend Bunbury – a necessity as Algernon observes for both husband and wife. Daringly, Wilde included a wealth of covert references in his punning text, from silver cigarette cases (a favorite gift to his gay lovers) to the title itself [...] As Wilde commented years later, when revising the play for publication after his imprisonment, ‘How I used to toy with that tiger Life!’
The Importance of Being Earnest was first produced at the St. James’ Theatre, London. It opened on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1895.
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