Rehearsal images have been released for the highly anticipated West End transfer of the National Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
This “bold and brash Wilde reboot” (★★★★ The Times) will run for a limited season at the Noël Coward Theatre from 18 September 2025 to 10 January 2026, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions.
Directed by Max Webster, this “sparkling new production” (★★★★★ Daily Mail) is a flamboyant reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy.
Olly Alexander stars as Algernon Moncrieff, alongside Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jack Worthing, Hugh Dennis as Rev. Canon Chasuble, Shobna Gulati as Miss Prism, Kitty Hawthorne as Gwendolen Fairfax, Jessica Whitehurst as Cecily Cardew, Hayley Carmichael as Merriman/Lane, and Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell.
The ensemble and understudy cast includes Jasmine Kerr, Sam Liu, Gillian McCafferty, Elliot Pritchard, and Liv Spencer.
Being sensible can be excessively boring. At least Jack thinks so.
While assuming the role of dutiful guardian in the country, he lets loose in town under a false identity. Meanwhile, his friend Algy takes on a similar facade.
Unfortunately, living a double life has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to love. Hoping to impress two eligible ladies, the gentlemen find themselves caught in a web of lies they must carefully navigate.
Max Webster, known for Life of Pi, Macbeth and Henry V, brings his signature theatricality to Wilde’s classic. He said he wants to celebrate Wilde’s elegance and rebellion, and with Stephen Fry, Olly Alexander and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett he’s “embracing the play’s subversive heart” again.
The creative team includes set and costume designer Rae Smith, lighting designer Jon Clark, sound designer Nicola T. Chang, movement director Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, composer D.J. Walde, and casting director Alastair Coomer CDG.
They are joined by associate director Aaliyah McKay, associate set designer Tim Blazdell, associate costume designer Johanna Coe, associate lighting designer Hector Murray, and associate sound designer Chris Reid.
Completing the team are physical comedy advisor Joyce Henderson, intimacy coordinator Ingrid Mackinnon, and voice and dialect coach Kate Godfrey.
Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre and a global NT Live cinema release, over 165,000 UK cinemagoers have already experienced “this joyous production” (★★★★ The i).
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
