The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Sharon Ott

Richmond, VA — VCUarts Theatre presents The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and entangled lovers. This wildly entertaining comedy still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere with its rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters, and has been called “the most perfect comedy in the English language” by the London Telegraph.

Performances are October 6^th – 9th at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (922 Park Ave Richmond, VA 23284).

Subtitled, “A trivial comedy for serious people”, The Importance of Being Earnest  is full of dazzling wordplay and hilariously unlikely situations. The story follows a group of people in high society London in the late nineteenth century. Two bachelors, John ‘Jack’ Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff both create alter egos under the name of Ernest, and each attempts to win the heart of a woman (who conveniently claim to only love men called Ernest). They struggle to keep their stories straight, and as chaos ensues, they find themselves tangled in a tale of deception, disguise, and misadventure. The audience is forced to ask - will these men ever find out the vital importance of being earnest?

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PERFORMANCE INFO

Performances will take place in the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts located at 922 Park Ave.

No food or drink allowed.

The Importance of Being Earnest has a run time of about two hours twenty minutes with one fifteen minute intermission.

The Box office opens one hour before performances, and doors typically open thirty minutes before performances. The VCUarts Theatre Box Office is now CASHLESS. Please purchase tickets online or in person with a credit/debit card.

Parking: There is a paid parking deck located at Harrison and Broad. You can also use public street parking which follows Richmond City regulations.

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Make sure to come back to VCUarts Theatre in December to see Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moisés Kaufman which takes a modern look at The Importance of Being Earnest playwright himself, Oscar Wilde. Both glorified and shunned during his lifetime in the 19^th century, The play recounts the 1895 arrest and trials that resulted in Wilde eventually being convicted and imprisoned for the crime of homosexuality. Kaufman draws from the original court transcripts as well as newspaper articles, letters, telegrams, and the works of Wilde and his contemporaries to bring the characters to life. Performances are December 1^st - 4^th at the Singleton Center.