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The Importance of Being Earnest
THE NOËL COWARD THEATRE
Until Jan, 10, 2026
Writer: Oscar Wilde
Director: Max Webster
Set & Costume: Rae Smith
Sound: Nicola T. Chang
Composer: D.J. Walde
Lighting: Jon Clark
All images © Marc Brenner
Oct, 5, 2025
The Importance of Being Earnest is a romantic farce that seems to underpin high society's predilections for marrying one's first cousins – a strangely contemporary narrative. Algernon, Olly Alexander, is a self-absorbed bachelor, witty and in his way somewhat loyal, but he lacks a sense of morality and urgency. His close friend Jack, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, is less inclined to follow Algernon’s raffish behaviour, but like his friend, there is a lack of purpose. For men like Algernon and Jack, the enjoyment of life is the purpose they aspire to. As Jack pines for Gwendolen, Kitty Hawthorne, a match Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, Stephen Fry, refuses to acquiesce to, Algernon falls for Jack’s ward, Cecily, Jessica Whitehurst. As the duelling romances come to a head, a revelation from Miss Prism, Shobna Gulati, changes everything for all concerned.
Writing in the Saturday Review in 1895, George Bernard Shaw's less than favourable review of The Importance of Being Earnest concluded, ‘On the whole I must decline to accept The Importance of Being Earnest as a day less than ten years old; and I am altogether unable to perceive any uncommon excellence in its presentations.’ The Importance of Being Earnest has arguably become one of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated plays. As the years turned into decades, directors have injected fresh life and meaning into Wilde's farce in such a way that new and old audiences can discover the brilliance of Wilde's wit, insight, and wisdom as a playwright and social observer. Director Max Webster’s National Theatre production last year earned praise for his unique approach to the play, which meant it was inevitably heading to the West End. By celebrating aspects of queerness, from both historical and contemporary perspectives, Webster has been able to highlight a substance in Wilde’s text that creates an everlasting connection with the audience.
At its core, The Importance of Being Earnest is a farce that always seemed to cater to a West End audience, even if Shaw disagreed. Its storyline gives the impression that there is little substance, but the reality is much different. Through Webster’s direction, Wilde’s text has taken on a deeper and perhaps more fulfilling meaning. One sees that this is a play about finding one's true self, that real self that has always been there, but circumstance and chance have made that discovery impossible. Wilde is a great social observer, and it is evident in his plays, which offer a glorious snapshot of what life would have been like in Victorian high society.
The themes of The Importance of Being Earnest lend themselves to campiness, which Webster’s production fully takes advantage of. Algernon and Jack don't work; they have money and lose it, and they get to lounge about all day going to their clubs and eating, drinking, and generally avoiding anything that resembles responsibility. The blending of contemporary references leads to in-jokes that not everyone in the audience may get (one concerning the Royal Vauxhall Tavern being a great example), and that gives the production an interesting edge. Jon Clark’s lighting paired with Rae Smith’s set, and Nicola T. Chang’s sound design with D.J. Walde’s music prove that the creative team have been on the same page as their director, and their efforts add great value.
Since he died in 1900, Oscar Wilde’s popularity has never dropped from the public’s consciousness, partly thanks to his family, latterly led by his grandson Merlin Holland. The inclusion of Fry as Lady Bracknell could not have been better casting, as Fry's connection with Wilde goes back to at least the BAFTA- and GLAAD-nominated feature WILDE. And in 1998, he helped to unveil a statue of Wilde near Trafalgar Square with Wilde’s great-grandson Lucian Holland – it’s across from Charing Cross station, which for Wilde fans has some significance. Fry may well have been the big name on the marquee, and as Lady Bracknell, he is brilliant, but never outshines any of his younger co-stars.
For Alexander, this is a homecoming of sorts as he was last at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2013 playing “Peter Pan” in John Logan’s Peter and Alice. And in 2012, he was at the Old Red Lion Theatre in Philip Ridley’s Mercury Fur. After a decade in music, Alexander’s return to acting is unexpected but exciting. As an actor, he has a stage presence that is ultimately engaging, and he has a range that few actors of his generation can claim. The substance of his performance is measured by his ability to play to the audience while always providing weight to every word he speaks. Stewart-Jarrett has had an amazing run of shows at the National Theatre and, much like Alexander, has appeared in a Philip Ridley production, Pitchfork Disney, but this is the first time I’ve seen him on stage. There’s a warmth between Stewart-Jarrett and Alexander which is only going to get tighter as the run makes its way through to the New Year, and I am eager to see what Stewart-Jarrett does next.
Algernon and Jack are meaty roles and where Webster has truly shone, is in how Hawthorne and Whitehurst, the latter only appearing in the second act, are never playing second fiddle to Alexander and Stewart-Jarrett. There is an equality in the time, space, humour and farce that Hawthorne and Whitehurst are afforded by this production. Much like Alexander and Stewart-Jarrett, the chemistry between Hawthorne and Whitehurst is electric, with their first meeting in the garden of Jack’s country house a wonderful moment for them both. The cast is rounded off by a delightful performance from Gulati, Miss Prism, and Hugh Dennis, Reverend Canon Chasuble. Gulati is a staple of British film, TV, and theatre, and this wealth of experience is wonderfully on show with this company. Though Dennis’s tendency to play the Reverend much older than he appears doesn’t aid the character and is perhaps the production’s only hiccup.
But the standout performance comes from Hayley Carmichael and her dual turn as Lane/Merriman, the manservant of Algernon and Jack. The two roles couldn’t be more different, and the way Carmichael brings Lane and Merriman to life is a masterclass in the subtlety of farcical performance. When an actor can elicit laughter from the audience by simply walking on stage, you know you are witnessing something exceptional. The resounding applause Carmichael earned after Merriman’s first scene was a rare experience; the only other time I can recall this happening was during “Dear Bill” from Operation Mincemeat.
"Webster et al have captured with this new production should be the blueprint for The Importance of Being Earnest moving forward."
For a moment, we can gloss over the seeming trivialities of marriage being the only thing a young lady can look forward to; if we pause, inside the farce, there is something pretty special. For Gwendolen and Cicely, marriage is a sense of freedom and offers them a type of independence that they currently don’t have. Gwendolen’s independence is curtailed by her domineering mother, and with Jack comfortably set up in the country, this is a match that allows her the best chance of freedom. And for Cicely, her overprotective guardian is equally determined to keep her tethered to him and away from the vices of the city. In Lady Bracknell, the audience also gets an insight into the strength and fortitude of the Victorian woman; she’s a woman who doesn’t just rule with an iron fist but manages to suppress the appetite for large living of men like Algernon and Jack with ease. As Algernon and Jack are willing to get rechristened to be with the women they love, it offers another insight into these two men. Their willingness to go through with this act shows the strengths of character of Gwendolen and Cicely; it shows that after marriage, they’re not going to be ‘damsels’ and that love, despite all the games, is really what wins out at the end. What Webster et al have captured with this new production should be the blueprint for The Importance of Being Earnest moving forward.
Leaving the theatre, the curtain call made me think of Terrance Stamp, who had recently passed away. One of his most iconic roles was as “Bernadette Passenger” in 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Though the ending of The Importance of Being Earnest may not be a tribute to Stamp or Priscilla, the curtain call does make it a touching celebration of queerness, freedom, liberty, and identity, akin to the ending of Priscilla. This is why Jack discovering who he is is a profound moment in the play, one that Stewart-Jarrett really sinks his teeth into. Jack's proclamation as he stands on the table feels like something of an emotional and physical release for him. It can be such a heavy burden spending your life unsure of who you might be, and Wilde allows Jack this moment of stepping out of this uncertainty and gives him his identity.
Wilde’s story is one of personal excess, internal struggle, and a selfishness that makes him an unlikely hero. The public, though, is drawn to him not because of the tragedy that surrounds his life but because of the beauty of his writing. Wilde only completed 9 plays and one novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey – a work that’s equally as revered. His writing offers an interesting snapshot of Victorian life, the trivial, mundane, and a longing to be free. In finding the flowery threads of life more rewarding to write about, Wilde champions the beauty of life irrespective of the hardships one may encounter.
In the face of these hardships, the only thing that humanity can aspire to is the comfort of beauty, or as Wilde once said, '...beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm.' To get an insight into Wilde, I would recommend reading Children in Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life. It’s a harrowing read and highlights how monstrous Victorians were and what Wilde experienced when he was imprisoned. For me, this shows why the playwright would rather celebrate the farcical nature of love, life, and beauty. His text allows a fantasy to play out whilst his own sense of self wasn’t just forbidden but was criminalised. Yet even faced with the most horrid of conditions, Wilde was able to find the beauty in life that makes his writing inspired and uplifts his audience.