Kingsley Players are back on stage in May with Oscar Wilde’s much-loved, brilliantly witty play The Importance of Being Earnest.
A cast of nine talented actors will perform the farcical comedy following the tangled affairs of two young men about town, who lead double lives in a complicated charade to avoid unwanted social obligations.
First performed in 1895, it was Wilde’s final play before he was infamously imprisoned with hard labour in Reading Gaol for being gay, and wasn’t reprised again until 1909, after his death.
Carole Shinkfield, who regularly directs and acts with Frodsham Players, is making her first directorial appearance in Kingsley after gaining an MA in directing at Manchester’s Arden Theatre School.
She said: “The Importance of Being Earnest has now come to be regarded as one of the greatest stage comedies of all time.
“I decided to set the play during the 1930s, as it was a period of great change for the upper classes.
“Although the play’s main characters are the ‘bright young things’ who lived through the Roaring Twenties, the rumblings in Europe are still at the outer reaches of their vision.
“Wilde cleverly mocks the hypocrisy, superficiality, and trivial concerns of the privileged gentry, illustrated in the beautifully crafted character of Lady Bracknell.
“Despite the numerous productions which have been around over the last year, I hope we can still bring something new to Wilde’s extraordinary piece of writing.”
The Importance of Being Earnest will be on stage at Kingsley Theatre in Kingsley Community Centre, from Wednesday to Saturday, May 21to 24, nightly at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £12, with £8 tickets available for students/children.
These can be booked online at www.kingsleyplayers.co.uk or by ringing the box office on 07724 892154.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
