The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde

“If there’s a better comedy in the English language than Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, well then I’ve never heard of it” quipped Noel Coward when he was congratulated on American TV for being “better than Mr Wilde”. Well whether Coward meant it as a bon mot or not, it’s certainly very true. We sort of all know the play and that must be a testament to its enduring charm. We can quote bits from it of course – “to lose once parent Mr Worthing may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness…” or “All women become like their mothers — that is their tragedy. No man does — that is his…” and inevitably “A handbag?…” A bit like Hamlet, this is a script stuffed with quotable quotes.

So we are looking for a cast who love comedy and want to appear in perhaps the best of all comedies, as Coward described it. We are open to everyone – there is no pre-casting – so please come along and join in the fun of the audition. The characters are as follows:

• John Worthing – a man known as Jack in the town but Ernest in the country, age 20-35.
• Algernon Montcrieff – his chum.
• Lady Bracknell – the formable mother of Gwendolen.
• Gwenodolen – Algie’s cousin, a sophisticated young woman.
• Cecily – Jack Worthing’s ward.
• Miss Prism – Cecily’s governess. A woman who remains unmarried.
• Rev Chasuble – a reverend gentleman who has romantic feelings for Miss Prism.
• Lane – Algie’s servant.
• Merriman – Jack’s servant.

Scripts available now from behind the QMT box office.

Audition Dates

Rehearsals