The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest is a farcical comedy set in late Victorian era London, in which the leading characters maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Two charming young ladies—sophisticated Gwendolen from the city and naive Cecily from the country—are in love with Earnest Worthing. But there is no such person as Earnest Worthing. Gwendolen thinks Jack is Earnest, and Cecily thinks Algy is Earnest. Each girl swears that she could never love a man who wasn't named Earnest. In the midst of all this confusion comes Lady Bracknell, who doesn't like the idea of anybody loving anybody. It sounds like a big mess, but Wilde unwinds this knotty affair into one of the favorite comedies of English literature. The two sets needed for this play have been the downfall of other one-act versions. A consistent contest winner, this adaptation combines the three acts into one and provides for the necessary set change without a break in the action.