Name: The Importance of Being Earnest 2024
Start: 2024-07-25T19:30:00
End: 2024-10-20T14:00:00
Location: Blackfriars Playhouse

July 25 - October 20, 2024

Get Tickets

BY OSCAR WILDE

“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” – Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde’s brilliant and wicked The Importance of Being Earnest, is a comedic masterpiece that unravels a web of mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and clever deceptions. When two young gentlemen decide to adopt fictitious personas to escape the constraints of societal expectations, a whirlwind of hilarious misunderstandings ensues. As love interests collide and secret pasts are revealed, Wilde weaves a delightful tapestry of wit, absurdity, and biting satire.

Don your finest apparel and join us at the Blackfriars Playhouse for an exquisite evening of uproarious laughter as a cast of charming characters, directed by José Zayas, navigate a world where triviality and earnest pursuits take center stage. And don’t forget the cucumber sandwiches!

Run time: approx. 2.5 hours, including two 10-minute intermissions

Age requirement: 7 and up (read full policies here)

Read more about our Staging Conditions and Casting Practices here.

Craving cucumber sandwiches? Stop by **Accordia** (114 E Beverley St in Staunton, VA) for themed sips and snacks before the show! Try their Coates & Seely champagne imported directly from the UK, the perfect pairing with an evening of Oscar Wilde.

Stuff That Happens

At his flat in London, Algernon Moncrieff prepares for the arrival of his aunt, Lady Augusta Bracknell, and her daughter, Gwendolen Fairfax.
Algernon’s friend Mr. Worthing arrives unexpectedly. Mr. Worthing is in love with Gwendolen.
Algernon is quite surprised to discover that his friend’s name is not actually Ernest, but Jack.
Algernon tells Jack about “Bunburying,” a ruse he invented for escaping tedious social functions in London.
Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. Jack (as Ernest) proposes to Gwendolen.
Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to ascertain his eligibility as a suitor to her daughter. Lady Bracknell is alarmed about Jack’s unknown parentage.
In the garden of Jack’s country house, his young ward, Cecily Cardew, and her governess, Miss Prism, discuss the need to reform Jack’s wayward brother ‘Ernest.’
Algernon and Jack meet in the garden, under surprising circumstances.
Gwendolen and Cecily meet in the garden, under equally surprising circumstances.
In the morning room of Jack’s country house, revelations, confessions, engagements, and earnest trivialities ensue…