Editing The Importance of Being Earnest (section)

==Revivals==
===1895–1929===
[[File:Lilian Braithwaite as Cecily.png|thumb|upright=0.5|[[Lilian Braithwaite]] as Cecily, 1901|alt=head and shoulders shot of young white woman with dark hair, seen in left profile]]
''The Importance of Being Earnest'' and Wilde's three other drawing room plays were performed in Britain during the author's imprisonment and exile by small touring groups. A. B. Tapping's company toured ''The Importance'' between October 1895 and March 1896,{{refn|An article in ''The Wildean'' in 2015 speculated that Tapping's production of the play in Limerick in late October 1895 may have been the first staging of the piece in Wilde's native Ireland.<ref>Atkinson, p. 24</ref>|group=n}} and Elsie Lanham's touring company presented it along with ''Lady Windermere's Fan'', beginning in November 1899.<ref>Atkinson, p. 32</ref> The play was well received; one local critic described it as "sparkling with wit and epigrams",<ref>"Pleasure Gardens Theatre", ''Folkestone Express'', 16 November 1895, p. 5</ref> and another called it "a most entertaining comedy [with] some sparkling dialogue".<ref>"The Opera House", ''Londonderry Sentinel'', 9 January 1900, p. 5</ref>

The play was not seen again in London until after Wilde's death in 1900. Alexander revived it in the small Coronet theatre in [[Notting Hill]], outside the West End, in December the following year,<ref>Bristow 2008, p. xxxviii</ref> after taking it on tour, starring as John Worthing, with a cast that included the young [[Lilian Braithwaite]] as Cecily. ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' called the piece "a brilliant play".<ref>"Mr George Alexander at the Royal", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 5 November 1901, p. 6</ref> ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' returned to the West End when Alexander presented a revival at the St James's in 1902. It was billed as "By the author of ''Lady Windermere's Fan''", and few reviews mentioned Wilde's name, but his work was praised. ''[[The Sporting Times]]'' said:

{{blockquote|The trivial comedy revived at the St James's is as witty an evening's entertainment as any worldling could desire. It is all as light as a good soufflé. The ladies talk like Mr W. S. Gilbert's fairies do, and are supernaturally clever; the men emit sparkles of wit even when their mouths are full of cucumber sandwiches or crumpets ... I can guarantee that the most blasé young man of twenty-two will have one chuckle a minute at the St James's. You are tickled throughout with a feather, and it is a very pleasant and comforting sensation.<ref>"The Importance of Being Earnest", ''The Sporting Times'', 11 January 1902, p. 3</ref>}}

The revival ran for 52 performances.<ref name=jxlv>Jackson (2000), p. xlv</ref> For the first Broadway revival, by [[Charles Frohman]]'s Empire [[Repertory theatre|Stock Company]] later in 1902, the playbills and the reviews restored the author's name.<ref>"Amusements", ''The New York Times'', 13 April 1902, p. 15; Carew, Kate. "Here's Wit that Sparkles Ever Bright", ''The Evening World'', 15 April 1902, p. 7; "The Theatres Last Night", ''The New York Times'', 15 April 1902, p. 5</ref>

Alexander presented the work again at the St James's in 1909, when he and Aynesworth reprised their original roles;<ref>"St James's Theatre", ''The Times'', 2 December 1909, p. 12</ref> that revival ran for 316 performances.<ref name=ga>Wearing, J. P. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/30370 "Alexander, Sir George (real name George Alexander Gibb Samson) (1858–1918), actor and theatre manager"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822091800/https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30370 |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2011 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> Max Beerbohm said that the play was sure to become a classic of the English repertory and that its humour was as fresh then as when it had been written, adding that the actors had "worn as well as the play".<ref name=Beerbohm510>Beerbohm, p. 510</ref>

[[File:The-Importance-of-Being-Earnest-1923.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|[[Leslie Faber (actor)|Leslie Faber]] (centre) as Jack, 1923 revival, with [[Louise Hampton]] as Miss Prism and [[H. O. Nicholson]] as Dr Chasuble |alt=stage scene in a garden setting with a man in full mourning costume centre, older woman to his right and an older man in clerical garb to his left, all wearing hats]]
The play was revived on Broadway in 1910 with a cast that included [[Hamilton Revelle]], [[A. E. Matthews]] and [[Jane Oaker]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented that the play "has lost nothing of its humor ... no one with a sense of humor can afford to miss it".<ref>"Oscar Wilde Comedy Revived at Lyceum", ''The New York Times'', 15 December 1910, p. 11</ref> For a 1913 revival at the St James's, the young actors [[Gerald Ames]] and A. E. Matthews succeeded the creators as Jack and Algernon.<ref>"St James's Theatre", ''The Times'', 17 February 1913, p. 10</ref>

[[Leslie Faber (actor)|Leslie Faber]] as Jack, [[John Deverell]] as Algernon and [[Margaret Scudamore]] as Lady Bracknell headed the cast in a 1923 production at the [[Haymarket Theatre]].<ref>"Haymarket Theatre", ''The Times'', 22 November 1923, p. 12</ref> Revivals in the first decades of the 20th century treated "the present" as the current year. It was not until the 1920s that the case for 1890s costumes was established; as a critic in ''The Manchester Guardian'' put it, "Thirty years on, one begins to feel that Wilde should be done in the costume of his period – that his wit today needs the backing of the atmosphere that gave it life and truth. ... Wilde's glittering and complex verbal felicities go ill with the [[Bob cut|shingle]] and the [[flapper|short skirt]]".<ref>"''The Importance of Being Earnest'' – a case for period costume", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 3 May 1927, p. 14</ref>

===1930–2000===
In [[Nigel Playfair]]'s 1930 production at the [[Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith)|Lyric]], [[Hammersmith]], [[John Gielgud]] played Jack to the Lady Bracknell of his aunt, [[Mabel Terry-Lewis]].<ref>Gielgud, pp. 90–91</ref> An [[The Old Vic|Old Vic]] production in 1934 featured the husband-and-wife team of [[Charles Laughton]] and [[Elsa Lanchester]] as Chasuble and Miss Prism; others in the cast were [[Roger Livesey]] (Jack), [[George Curzon (actor)|George Curzon]] (Algernon), [[Athene Seyler]] (Lady Bracknell), [[Flora Robson]] (Gwendolen) and [[Ursula Jeans]] (Cecily).<ref>"The Old Vic Goes Wilde", ''The Sketch'', 14 February 1934, p. 36</ref> On Broadway, [[Estelle Winwood]] co-starred with [[Clifton Webb]] and [[Hope Williams]] in a 1939 revival.<ref>Barron, Mark. "Broadway", ''Buffalo Courier Express'', 22 January 1939, p. 11</ref>

Gielgud produced and starred in a production at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe]] (now the Gielgud) Theatre in 1939, in a cast that included [[Edith Evans]] as Lady Bracknell, [[Joyce Carey]] as Gwendolen, [[Angela Baddeley]] as Cecily and [[Margaret Rutherford]] as Miss Prism. ''The Times'' considered the production the best since the original and praised it for its fidelity to Wilde's conception and its "airy, responsive ball-playing quality".<ref>"Globe Theatre", ''The Times'', 1 February 1939, p. 12</ref> Later in the same year, Gielgud presented the work again, with [[Jack Hawkins]] as Algernon, [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies]] as Gwendolen and [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as Cecily, with Evans and Rutherford in their previous roles.<ref>"Globe Theatre", ''The Times'', 17 August 1939, p. 8</ref> The production was presented in several seasons during and after the Second World War, with mostly the same principal players.<ref name=gaye/> During a 1946 season at the Haymarket, the [[George VI|King]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen]] attended a performance,<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', 12 April 1946, p. 7</ref> which, as the journalist [[Geoffrey Wheatcroft]] put it, gave the play "a final accolade of respectability".<ref>Wheatcroft, Geoffrey. [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/05/not-green-not-red-not-pink/302729/ "Not green, not red, not pink"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522160423/http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2003/05/wheatcroft.htm |date=22 May 2013 }}, ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'', May 2003</ref>{{refn|[[George VI]] was not the first British king who had attended a performance of the play: his grandfather [[Edward VII]], then [[Prince of Wales]], was in the audience for the first production.<ref>"Court Circular", ''The Times'', 30 May 1895, p. 12</ref>|group=n}} Gielgud's London production toured North America and was successfully staged on Broadway in 1947.<ref name=c333>Croall, p. 333</ref>{{refn|Rutherford switched roles, from Miss Prism to Lady Bracknell for the North American production; [[Jean Cadell]] played Miss Prism. [[Robert Flemyng]] played Algernon.<ref>Hayman, p. 155</ref> The cast was given a special [[Tony Award]] for "Outstanding Foreign Company".<ref name=c333/>|group=n}}

In 1975 [[Jonathan Miller]], who had been prevented for financial reasons the previous year from staging the play at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] with an all-male cast, directed a production in which Lady Bracknell, played by [[Irene Handl]], was given a German accent.<ref>Hall, pp. 80–81, 122–123, and 151</ref><ref>Hepple, Peter. "The Importance of Being Earnest at Greenwich", ''The Stage'', 27 March 1975, p. 19</ref> For [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]'s 1982 production at the National Theatre the cast included [[Judi Dench]] as Lady Bracknell,{{refn|Twenty-three years earlier, Dench had played Cecily to the Lady Bracknell of [[Fay Compton]] in a 1959 [[Old Vic]] production that included in the cast [[Alec McCowen]], [[Barbara Jefford]], and [[Miles Malleson]].<ref>"The Importance of Being Earnest revived", ''The Times'', 14 October 1959, p. 4</ref>|group=n}} [[Martin Jarvis (actor)|Martin Jarvis]] as Jack, [[Nigel Havers]] as Algernon, [[Zoë Wanamaker]] as Gwendolen and [[Anna Massey]] as Miss Prism.<ref>Wardle, Irving. "Theatre", ''The Times'', 17 September 1982, p. 9</ref> In 1987 a version of the play was given at the [[Whitehall Theatre]] starring [[Hinge and Bracket]] as Miss Prism and Lady Bracknell respectively.<ref name=ms>Shenton, Mark [https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-importance-of-being-earnest2 "The Importance of Being Earnest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816065325/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-importance-of-being-earnest2 |date=16 August 2024 }}, ''The Stage'', 1 July 2015</ref> [[Nicholas Hytner]]'s 1993 production at the [[Aldwych Theatre]], starring [[Maggie Smith]], had occasional references to [[#Conjectural homosexual subtext|a conjectural gay subtext]].<ref name=Bostridge>Bostridge, Mark. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/earnest-the-musical-earnest-the-sequel-don-t-laugh-175630.html "Earnest the musical? Earnest the sequel? Don't laugh..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822091740/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/earnest-the-musical-earnest-the-sequel-don-t-laugh-175630.html |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''The Independent'', 1 September 2002</ref>

===21st century===
The play was presented in Singapore in 2004 by the [[British Theatre Playhouse]],<ref>[https://britishtheatreplayhouse.com/productions/ "Past Productions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822093153/https://britishtheatreplayhouse.com/productions/ |date=22 August 2024 }}, British Theatre Playhouse. Retrieved 18 August 2024</ref> and the same company took the production to [[Greenwich Theatre]], London, in 2005.<ref>Morrison, John. "The Importance of Being Earnest", ''The Stage'', 21 April 2005, p. 9</ref> In 2007 [[Peter Gill (playwright)|Peter Gill]] directed the play at the [[Theatre Royal, Bath]]. The production went on a short UK tour before playing in the West End in 2008.<ref>Billington, Michael. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/feb/01/theatre "The Importance of Being Earnest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822091740/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/feb/01/theatre |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''The Guardian'', 1 February 2008</ref>

Since the 1987 Whitehall version, some other productions have cast a male actor in the role of Lady Bracknell. In 2005 the [[Abbey Theatre]], Dublin, presented the play with an all-male cast; it also featured Wilde as a character – the play opened with him drinking in a Parisian café, dreaming of his play.<ref>Fricker, Karen. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/aug/08/theatre "The Importance of Being Earnest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822091655/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/aug/08/theatre |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''The Guardian'', 8 August 2005</ref> The [[Melbourne Theatre Company]] staged a production in 2011 with [[Geoffrey Rush]] as Lady Bracknell.<ref>Middleton, Carol. [https://australianstage.com.au/201111184961/reviews/melbourne/the-importance-of-being-earnest-%7C-melbourne-theatre-company.html "The Importance of Being Earnest – Melbourne Theatre Company"] ''Australina Stage'', 18 November 2011</ref> In the same year the [[Roundabout Theatre Company]] presented a Broadway revival based on the 2009 [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival]] production featuring its director, [[Brian Bedford]], as Lady Bracknell.<ref>Jones, Kenneth. [https://playbill.com/article/a-wilde-hit-broadways-earnest-gets-17-week-extension-bumping-people-musical-to-studio-54-com-175535 "A Wilde Hit! Broadway's ''Earnest'' gets 17 week extension, bumping ''People'' musical to Studio 54"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816083210/https://playbill.com/article/a-wilde-hit-broadways-earnest-gets-17-week-extension-bumping-people-musical-to-studio-54-com-175535 |date=16 August 2024 }}, ''[[Playbill]]'', 26 January 2011</ref> At the [[Vaudeville Theatre]], London, in 2015, [[David Suchet]] took the role in a production directed by [[Adrian Noble]].<ref name=ms/>

In 2014 at the [[Harold Pinter Theatre]], London, [[Lucy Bailey]] directed a production that followed a trend to "age-blind" casting:<ref name=age/><ref>John, Emma. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/aug/14/age-blind-casting-geraldine-james "'A 70-year-old skipping about pretending to be 20': the new era of age-blind casting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822092701/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/aug/14/age-blind-casting-geraldine-james |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''The Guardian'', 14 August 2024</ref> the average age of the cast was nearly seventy, and Jarvis and Havers reprised the roles they had played at the National in 1982.<ref name=age>Masters, Tim. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28364946 "Havers recaptures youth in Importance of Being Earnest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822092706/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28364946 |date=22 August 2024 }}, BBC, 20 July 2014</ref> In 2024 the [[Royal Exchange Theatre]], Manchester presented an updated version, described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "a convincing stab at a 21st-century makeover".<ref>Fisher, Mark. [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/20/the-importance-of-being-earnest-review-royal-exchange-manchester The Importance of Being Earnest review – Algernon et al get a 21st-century makeover"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822092639/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/20/the-importance-of-being-earnest-review-royal-exchange-manchester |date=22 August 2024 }}, ''The Guardian'', 20 June 2024</ref> That same year, a more opulent version was performed at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]]. The cast included [[Ncuti Gatwa]] as Algernon, [[Hugh Skinner]] as Jack, [[Eliza Scanlen]] as Cecily, [[Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo]] as Gwendolen, and [[Sharon D. Clarke]] as Lady Bracknell.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Importance of Being Earnest|url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-importance-of-being-earnest/ |access-date=March 31, 2025|work=National Theatre}}</ref>