Sam Cormack, Charis Anna Beyer, Sarah Hinchliffe, Elizabeth Steele and Tom Collins in BLT’s March 2014 production of ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’, directed by Stevie Hughes.
Fri 7 – Sat 15 March 2014 at 7.45pm (not Sunday 9)
The Importance Of
Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Stevie Hughes
Generally acknowledged to be one of the world’s great comedies, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest comes to the BLT stage! Abounding with razor-sharp apothegms, hilariously unpleasant characters and an uproariously preposterous plot, Wilde’s outrageous satire on the hypocrisy of the rich has remained curiously topical(!) – and is the most popular of all his works.
Bon viveur Algernon Moncrieff is amused to discover that his fellow man-about-town Jack Worthing has invented a fictitious brother called Ernest. Jack uses his ‘brother’ as an excuse to escape to London and pretends to be him when out on the tiles there. He is besotted with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen and is delighted that she accepts his proposal of marriage, although her predilection for him seems based solely on her “girlish dream to love someone whose name was Ernest”. However, after her mother, the formidable Lady Bracknell, learns of Jack’s lowly orphan status, any question of his marriage to her daughter is swiftly ruled out. Algy is intrigued by the further discovery that Jack is guardian to a young girl and sneaks down to Jack’s country home to meet her, pretending to be ‘Ernest’. He promptly falls in love with her, only to learn that she has already fallen in love with him too – simply because she believes his name to be Ernest!
When Jack, Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive, the absurdity reaches its peak.
The cream of BLT’s regular acting brilliance combine with some sparkling brand new talent to bring this hilarious comedy to the BLT stage for the first time this century!
CAST:
Elaine : Susie King
Algernon Moncrieff : Tom Collins
Jack Worthing : Sam Cormack
Lady Bracknell : Sarah Hinchliffe
Gwendolen Fairfax : Charis Anna Beyer
Cecily Cardew : Elizabeth Steele
Miss Prism : Nikki Packham
Dr. Chasuble : Dennis Packham
Merriman : Phil Cairns