Ncuti Gatwa got rave reviews for his performance in the London production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Now the UK’s National Theatre has made the recording of the stage production available for everyone to watch, but you only have until March 18th to take in the show.
The production played from late 2024 until early 2025.with the Sex Education and Doctor Who star playing Algernon Moncreiff. Last year the show was staged again in the West End with Olly Alexander stepping into the role.
Joining Gatwa in the production were Sharon D Clarke (Doctor Who, Holby City), Hugh Skinner (Fleabag, The Windsors, Mama Mia – Here We Go Again), Amanda Lawrence (Mr Selfridge, Above Suspicion), Eliza Scanlen (The First Lady, Home & Away), Richard Cant (It’s a Sin, The Crown) and Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Doctor Who, Alex Rider).
This is a very different take on Wilde’s famous play, one which makes the subtext more of the actual text. Writing in Theatre Reviews Paul Lewis outlined how different this take is to the play’s traditional presentation.
“Did you know Oscar Wilde was gay? I’ll be surprised if you didn’t, but after seeing Max Webster’s production at the Lyttelton, you’ll be in no doubt. His subtle references to the Victorian gay community are circled with a pencil, underlined with a marker pen, and coloured in with a fluorescent highlighter in this panto style production.” he wrote, giving the production a three-star review.
Marianka Swain at London Theatre however raved about the show and said “Webster lifts the subtext of Wilde’s farcical device, which has always been queer-coded, firmly into text.”
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People, to use its full title, was first performed in 1895. It’s successful opening night was the peak of the author’s career, but just weeks later his world came tumbling down when he was accused of being a a homosexual. The show closed after just 86 performances.
Its gone on to be one of the most performed plays of all time, and its been adapted into films, a musical, and an opera.
Hero photograph: National Theatre Mark Brenner.
