The Importance of Being Earnest

Jack Worthing lives in the country and pretends to have a brother in London called Ernest, so he has a perfect excuse to slip away to the city. Jack’s friend Algernon has created an imaginary friend called Bunbury, so that he too has a reason for escaping the tedium of his own social life in London.

Problems arise when Jack falls in love with Gwendolyn and Algernon falls in love with Cecily, even though both young women feel that they can only marry a man whose name is Earnest. Added to which is Gwendolyn’s tyrannical mother Lady Bracknell, who refuses to allow Jack to marry Gwendolyn when she finds out that as a baby he was discovered lying in a handbag, left at a railway station.

First performed at the St. James Theatre London on February 14 1895, this comedy of manners is the most famous of Oscar Wilde’s theatrical works. It is a masterpiece of truth about class and gender disguised as an airy trifle.

ADGE presents this wonderful play in its own unique style, in which comical physical theatre and visual humour match the wit already present in the text. Live music too adds a fresh and contemporary touch to the production, which can be seen in cities around Europe in 2026–2027.

“Outstanding acting achievements were rewarded by the Trier public with thunderous applause and a standing ovation.” — Trierischer Volksfreund

Directed by Leo Benedict, this production we hope will not disappoint.