The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893) and An Ideal Husband (1895). First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy depicting the tangled affairs of two young men about town who lead double lives to evade unwanted social obligations, both assuming the name Ernest while wooing the two young women of their affections.
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford was an English actress of stage, film and television.
Dame Dorothy Tutin was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two Evening Standard Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and a Dame (DBE) in 2000.
Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born. She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989, and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the arts and to charity.
Dame Edith Mary Evans was an English actress. She was best known for her work on the West End stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and towards the end of her career. Between 1964 and 1968, she was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Anthony Asquith was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Browning Version (1951), among other adaptations. His other notable films include Pygmalion (1938), French Without Tears (1940), The Way to the Stars (1945) and a 1952 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.
Jennifer "Gemma" Jones is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include Sense and Sensibility (1995), the Bridget Jones series (2001–2025), the Harry Potter series (2002–2011), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), and Ammonite (2020).
The Importance of Being Earnest is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Oliver Parker, based on Oscar Wilde's classic 1895 comedy of manners of the same name. A British-American co-production, the film stars Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon, and Judi Dench in lead roles, with Tom Wilkinson and Frances O'Connor in supporting roles. The original music score is composed by Charlie Mole.
Charmian Rosemary May was an English character actress best known for her television and film roles. She appeared in the sitcoms The Good Life, The Upper Hand and Keeping Up Appearances, and the film Bridget Jones's Diary. She appeared as Miss Pershore in episodes 6 and 7 of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976).
Ernest in Love is a musical with a book and lyrics by Anne Croswell and music by Lee Pockriss. It is based on The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde's classic 1895 comedy of manners.
Rebecca Night is an English actress who starred in the title role of James Hawes's BBC Four adaptation Fanny Hill. Night and Stockard Channing co-starred as Jessie and Thelma in Marsha Norman's Pulitzer-Prize-winning play 'night, Mother at Hampstead Theatre. On her performance, described by lead theatre critic Mark Shenton: "Night is like a young Julia Roberts... with natural stage chops... It turns out to be a riveting, revealing evening."
Celia Bannerman is an English actress and director.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a filmed version of the 2011 Broadway revival production of Oscar Wilde's 1895 play of the same name. The film is directed by and stars Brian Bedford.
Sara Topham is a Canadian actress. She is primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a three-act opera by Gerald Barry based on the 1895 play of the same name by Oscar Wilde. The opera was given concert performances in Los Angeles in 2011 and in London and Birmingham in 2012, and received its first fully staged performances in 2013 at the Opéra national de Lorraine, Nancy. Its first British staged performance took place at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Covent Garden, in 2013.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a 1957 Australian TV performance of the 1895 play by Oscar Wilde. It was directed by Paul O'Loughlin. It was made at a time when Australian drama production was rare.
To Hell in a Handbag: The Secret Lives of Canon Chasuble and Miss Prism is a 2016 play by the Irish actor/writers Helen Norton and Jonathan White. It deals with two minor characters from Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a 1992 American film adaptation of the 1895 play of the same name by Oscar Wilde, featuring an all-black cast.
Emily Barber is an English stage, television and film actress having had roles in Endeavour and The Royals (2018), Call The Midwife and Backdraft 2 (2019), The Alienist (2020), and Bridgerton in 2022.
Acting for a Cause is a live read series of classic plays and screenplays created, produced, directed and hosted by Brando Crawford. The script is typically announced days before the event alongside a playbill featuring the cast and an animation on Instagram. The actors have one rehearsal ahead of time. Each reading is organized to raise money for charity. The readings garnered over 500,000 viewers between the first play read on March 27, 2020 and the last announced read on July 31, 2020.
