Stars of stage take go Wilde over am dram, as MARION SAUVEBOIS discovers

OSCAR Wilde’s witty masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest will roll into the Wyvern Theatre next week but with an unexpected twist.

The Importance of Being Earnest is known to elegantly lampoon the hypocrisies of a Victorian society and opens as two bachelors, the dependable John Worthing, J.P. and upper class playboy Algernon Moncrieff, feel compelled to create different identities in order to pursue two eligible ladies Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax.

The hilarious misadventures which result from their subterfuge; their brushes with the redoubtable Lady Bracknell and the uptight Miss Prism result in a plot that twists and fizzles with some of the finest dialogue to be found in theatre.

In this new production, Wilde’s timeless work is revisited by an am dram group The Bunbury Company of Players who are in the midst of dress rehearsal ahead of the show’s looming premiere as the curtain opens.

The cast who are well past middle age are motivated (some anyway) but a tad too old to take on such youthful characters.

Rosalind Ayres, Nigel Havers, Martin Jarvis, Christine Kavanagh and Siân Phillips who all appeared in the play on the West End reprise their original roles in the new revival.

The Importance of Being Earnest will run from Tuesday, October 27 to Saturday 31 at the Wyvern. Tickets start at £22. To book visit swindontheatres.co.uk or call 01793 524481.