OSCAR Wilde’s comedy of social scandal and family relationships, A Woman of No Importance, comes to Swindon Arts Centre on Saturday night.

The play, which premiered in 1900, opens with Lady Hunstanton’s house party in full swing, and Gerald Arbuthnot is announced as secretary to the witty Lord Illingworth. However, once Gerald’s mother makes an appearance, his future is suddenly uncertain. Should Mrs Arbuthnot tell her son the truth she has hidden all these years? Would Gerald and Society ever forgive her? After all, who would believe Lord Illingworth to be a man of no importance?

Comic melodrama and social scandal bubble away in the play, which satirises the attitudes of the English upper classes, and is laced with the humour and wit for which Wilde is famous. It is performed by DT Productions, a company founded in 2008, and produced by Andrew Lindfield. The Essex-based touring theatre company performs classical theatre and new writings across the south east of the UK. Last year, they did Emma, and the year before that, another Wilde classic, The Importance of Being Earnest.

"Audiences love the wit of Wilde," Andrew said. "Observations on society are very relevant today. The play has more melodrama and scandal than Earnest, but it is particularly empowering of women. It deals with issues facing women at the time, and they way they are treated. But every female character is strong -whether right or wrong - and they tend to manipulate the men.

"It's funny but also very serious, and very poignant at the end. It's not just froth, but very message-driven, without being too heavy."

The play, with a cast of six, has been touring outdoor venues over the summer, and with a move indoors comes a chance for a greater focus on subtlety.

"We have been rained on a lot. First it was too hot, then the last two weeks it has been cold and wet. Outdoors, you play out big, but you don't have to do that when you are staged-based," Andrew said. "It's the first time we've visited Swindon and we are really looking forward to it,."

Next year, DT Productions is touring an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Tomorrow's performance begins at 7.30pm at the arts centre in Devizes Road. Tickets are £14.50 with concessions available.

To book, call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.