Ncuti Gatwa's Performance is Pure Joy in 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
If you need a dose of joy in your life, there is no better remedy than the National Theatre Live’s The Importance of Being Earnest. This production of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy originally ran at London’s Lyttleton Theatre from November 2024 to January 2025. Now, thanks to the National Theatre’s cinema screenings, audiences across the globe can have a front-row seat to what already feels like a historic and definitive adaptation of Earnest.
Earnest is a farcical romp about mistaken identity and the queerest tale of heterosexual courtship ever told. Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who) stars as Algernon, a socialite dandy with a taste for gossip and mischief. His friend Jack, played by Hugh Skinner (Fleabag), wants to keep up with Algernon’s raucous lifestyle but is limited by responsibilities at home. To balance his double life, Jack goes by “Jack” at home and “Earnest” when he’s living it up in town with Algy. Enter Gwendolyn (Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́) and Cecily (Eliza Scanlen), two young women who share the “girlish dream” of loving a man named Earnest. Layers of mix-ups and secrets unfold as Algernon, Jack, Gwendolyn, and Cecily pair off under the watchful eye of Algernon’s aunt, Lady Augusta Bracknell, deliciously portrayed by Sharon D. Clarke (Inspector Ellis).
Earnest is pure theater magic, not an ounce of which is lost by its transition to the silver screen. If anything, the screening enriches the play, allowing viewers to take in every stitch in the sumptuous costumes and every quirk of Gatwa’s eyebrows. It is truly, as the National Theatre advertises its live recordings, the best seat in the house.
