Rathfarnham Theatre Group

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The Importance of Being Earnest

By Oscar Wilde

Date: 22 - 26 May 2012

Producer: Phil Fitzpatrick

Director: Anne O'Connell

Location: The Mill Theatre, Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dundrum


PROGRAMME <<< Click here.

CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Lane, manservant

Darrach Connolly

Algernon Moncrieff

Brendan O'Sullivan

John Worthing J.P.

Brian O'Connor

Lady Bracknell

Carmel Cullen

Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax

Jessica Stone

Cecily Cardew

Deirdre Dunleavy

Miss Prism, governess

Helen O'Brien

Rev. Canon Chasuble,D.D.

Eamon Cullen

Merriman, butler

Noel Young

Footman

Tom Foster

CREW

Director

Anne O'Connell

Producer

Phil Fitzpatrick

Lighting and Sound

Barry Donaldson

Set Design

Anne O'Connell

Stage Director

Gerry McCann

Stage Crew

Columb Casey

 

Mark Shinnick

 

Tom Foster

 

Phil Fitzpatrick

Properties

Carl Lusby

Costumes

Deirdre Dunlevy

Set Construction

Bobby White

Publicity

Columb Casey

Photography

Noel Young

 

Pat Hanratty

Piano

Michael Kelly

 


 

Presented by Rathfarnham Theatre Group

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The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humour, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages, while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play.

 

The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, father of Lord Alfred Douglas, an intimate friend of Wilde, planned to present Wilde a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Soon afterwards, however, their feud came to a climax in court, where Wilde's homosexual double life was revealed to the Victorian public and he was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. Wilde's notoriety caused the play, despite its success, to be closed after just 86 performances. After his release, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work.

 

The Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions. InThe Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Dame Edith Evans reprised her celebrated interpretation of Lady Bracknell; The Importance of Being Earnest (1992) by Kurt Baker used an all-black cast; and Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) incorporated some material cut during the preparation of the original stage production

 


Quotes

 

"Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?"

 

"When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people."

 

"Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die."

 


poster

 

 





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