After a phenomenally critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run in 2022, and previous London Fringe theatre success, the hugely popular ‘The Importance of Being… Earnest?’ will play a full run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 before embarking on a 37-week tour, beginning in September 23 and running right through to July 2024.
In this riotous twist on a much-loved classic the show opens to looming disaster; the actor playing Ernest in Oscar Wilde’s famed farce fails to arrive on cue. In a monumental effort to ‘save the show’, a real audience member is quickly cast in the lead role.
But this impetuous recasting sets off a hilarious chain of events that, one-by-one, renders the rest of the cast unable to continue their performances.
As more audience members are encouraged to step into the spotlight, led backstage for costume and make-up, impromptu auditions, the painting of portraits, the chanting of mantras; doing whatever’s needed to help the show go on, an absurd controlled madness ensues – until it feels as if there are almost as many audience members in the cast as there are in the ... audience.
This is a comedic masterpiece of meticulous logistics, meritoriously involved audiences, masterful stage management and celebrity cameos. The Importance of Being... Earnest? Is an exciting and hilarious experience both to watch and be part of as the innovative format creates an unexpected new experience every night. It’s a show for anyone who has enjoyed the high-jinx of The Play That Goes Wrong, Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare and Austentatious.
Developed alongside the company’s flagship open-rehearsal initiative, where audiences are invited into the rehearsal room to participate in the creative process, the show is written by Josh King, Simon Paris and Say It Again, Sorry?, and is directed by Simon Paris.
The company’s vision is for the public to recover ownership over their own creative power and contribute to the future of theatre as active participants, collaborators, and decision-makers. Their aim is to connect people to their inner artist and inspire creative expression in everybody.
2023
August 23
2nd - 27th Aug Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh
SEPTEMBER 23
21st - 23rd Sept: Palace Theatre, Southend-On-Sea
28th -30th Sept: Corby Cube, Corby
OCTOBER 23
4th -7th Oct Theatre Clwyd, Mold, Wales
12th - 14th Oct Beck Theatre, Hayes
November 23
2nd - 4th Nov Coventry Belgrade, Coventry
9th - 12th Nov New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth
16th - 17th Nov The Grand Theatre, Blackpool. (Booking link to come)
18th Nov Victoria Theatre, Halifax
24th - 26th Nov Lyceum Theatre, Crewe
30th Nov - 2nd Dec The Haymarket, Basingstoke
2024
January 24
18th -20th Jan MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton
25th 27th Jan Harlequin Theatre, Redhill. (Booking link to come)
February 24
2nd - 4th Feb Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple. (Booking link to come)
16th -18th Feb Key Theatre, Peterborough
22nd -24th Feb The Courtyard, Hereford
28th Feb -1st March Wyvern Theatre , Swindon
March 24
8th - 10th March The Customs House, South Shields (Booking link to come)
14th -16th March Northcott Theatre, Exeter (Booking link to come)
21st -23rd March March Swansea Grand Theatre, Swansea, Wales (Booking link to come)
April 24
5th -7th April The Plaza, Stockport (Booking link to come)
11th -13th April Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford (Booking link to come)
18th -20th April Mercury Theatre, Colchester (Booking link to come)
25th - 26th April Corn Exchange, Newbury (Booking link to come)
27th April Dorking Halls, Dorking (Booking link to come)
May 24
10th -11th May Camberley Theatre, Camberley (Booking link to come)
17th -19th May Darlington Hippodrome, Darlington
24th -25th May Palace Theatre, Redditch
26th May St Helens Theatre Royal, Saint Helens
30th May Palace Theatre, Mansfield (Booking link to come)
June 24
6th - 8th June Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds (Booking link to come)
14th - 16th June The Capitol, Horsham (Booking link to come)
22nd - 23rd June Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (Booking link to come)
27th - 29th June The Garrick, Lichfield (Booking link to come)
July 24
1st - 2nd July Theatre Royal, Dumfries (Booking link to come)
4th - 5th July The Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen
