Making his Royal Exchange debut, director Josh Roche's take on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (June 14-July 20), brings it into the present day, where the dandies of the original have become social media obsessives whose every anxious move must go viral.
Roche said “Bringing any of Oscar Wilde’s plays to the Royal Exchange in 2024 is a privilege. He is a writer who constantly balances empathy with satire, reminding us how ridiculous we are, while also understanding our need to feel profound.
"Wilde’s society of 1895 is disturbingly similar to our own. But what is particularly exciting about bringing Earnest to the Royal Exchange is how well this modern space suits this classic play - a uniquely social, free and dynamic theatre for a timeless comedy of profound triviality.”
Best friends and loveable rogues Algernon and Jack are still at the centre of things. Algernon (Parth Thakerar – Macbeth, National Theatre, Vigil on TV) and Robin Morrisey (The Accrington Pals, Royal Exchange; TV includes Coronation Street) plays Jack.
Gwendolen and Cecily, the female half of the lovestruck quartet, sees Phoebe Pryce as Gwendolen (The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall, Bolton Octagon; TV includes The Girfriend Experience) and Rumi Sutton (Miss Saigon, Sheffield Crucible; Casualty) as Cecily
Abigail Cruttenden is Lady Bracknell (Silent Witness, The Theory Of Everything; Twelfth Night, RSC), while Royal Exchange and West End regular Ian Bartholemew is Chasuble, award-winning Emma Cunniffe plays Miss Prism and Manchester’s James Quinn plays Lane and Merriman.
More info and tickets here