The Importance of Being Earnest at Heidelberg

Heidelberg Theatre Company will stage Oscar Wilde’s well–loved comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, from July 12 – 28 as part of the company’s 60^th anniversary celebrations.

Well over a century since The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed to the London public in 1895, it remains as fresh and sparkling as a glass of fine champagne.

In Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy of manners and mistaken identity, two loveable rogues create fictitious alter-egos and spin intricate tales of deceit and deception in order to escape the rigors of high society. When love comes along and threatens to expose the façade, John and ‘Ernest’ go to hilarious lengths to keep their secret identities under wraps.

Packed with rapid-fire dialogue and dripping with Oscar Wilde’s signature wit, The Importance of Being Earnest is a wickedly funny exposé of the vicious class snobbery and societal rituals of Victorian England. Wilde deftly pokes fun at the trivial pursuits of London’s elite whilst weavinga wildly entertaining story that has long since become a theatrical classic.

Director Wendy Drowley’s previous credits include HTC’s productions of Tom Stoppard’s Rough Crossing, and G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion during their 50^th Anniversary Year in 2002. Wendy has also designed the set, and in the lead-up to the production was at the theatre every daylight hour for a week, continuing to re-upholster every flat surface on the set as well as directing the show in the evenings, overseeing everything related to the show, except perhaps how much coffee to put in the percolator, though it’s possibly on her list. 

You might say she is embracing the holistic view of her responsibilities as Director of Earnest and having a fine time with a happy, talented cast, a great support team and a husband who cooks and stays calm and patrons mustard keen to see the show.

The cast features Ian McGregor (John Worthing) and James Jackson will star as the devious duo and Algernon Moncrieff, respectively. Frances Hutson plays the sardonic Lady Bracknell, with Aimee Sanderson as Gwendolen Fairfax, Taryn Eva as Cecily Cardew, Judi Clark as Miss Prism, John Cheshire as Rev. Chasuble, Ian Robertson as Merriman,Tom Hall as Lane and Laura Curtis as the Maid.

Images (from top) – left to right: Aimee Sanderson as Gwendolen, Francis Hutson as Lady Bracknell, Taryn Eva as Cecily; from left: James Jackson as Algernon, Taryn Eva as Cecily, Judi Clark as Miss Prism, & from left: Ian McGregor as John Worthing (Ernest), Francis Hutson as Lady Bracknell, Aimee Sanderson as Gwendolen. Photographer: Patricia Tyler.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Heidelberg Theatre Company

July 12 - 28

BOOK ONLINE at htc.org.au or call the HTC BOX OFFICE – 9457 4117