A scene from The Importance of Being Earnest written by the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) and produced, under the direction of George Alexander with designs by H. P. Hall and Walter Hann, at St. James's Theatre, London, having run shorter than expected, due to Oscar Wilde's increasing public notoriety, from February 14 to May 8, 1895.
The original cast featured George Alexander as 'John Worthing', Allan Aynesworth as 'Algernon Moncrieff', Rose Leclercq as 'Lady Bracknell', Irene Vanbrugh as 'Gwendolen Fairfax', Evelyn Millard as 'Cecily Cardew', Mrs. George Canninge as 'Miss Prism', H. H. Vincent as 'Rev. Canon Chasuble', F. Kinsey Peile as 'Lane' and Frank Dyall as 'Merriman'.
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Allan Aynesworth as Algernon (left) and George Alexander as John (right) |
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| Irene Vanbrugh as Gwendolen Fairfax and George Alexander as Jack Worthing in the 1895 production |
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| Allan Aynesworth, Evelyn Millard, Irene Vanbrugh and George Alexander in the 1895 premiere |
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| Mrs George Canninge as Miss Prism and Evelyn Millard as Cecily Cardew |
"The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, March 23rd, 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest at the St. James's Theatre."
1- Cicely- "The next day i bought the little ring in your name."
2- Mrs. Prism.- "Poor Earnest! it's a sad blow."
3- John Worthing- "I suppose a man may eat his own muffins in his own garden."
4- Gwendolen- "My first impressions of people are never wrong."
OSCAR WILDE'S THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. A Reconstructive Critical Edition of the Text of the First Production, St James's Theatre, 1895.
Gwendolen (Irene Vanbrugh), Merriman (Frank Dyall) and Cecily (Evelyn Millard), in the original production, Act II
Known as Wilde's most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest premiered at St. James's Theatre in London on 14 February 1895. Wilde began meticulously outlining and drafting the comedy in July 1894. He continued revising the play over the course of six months.
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