THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Coming to Theatre Royal Glasgow

Starring NIGEL HAVERS, CHRISTINE KAVANAGH and SIÂN PHILLIPS who reprise their West End performances. Further star casting is to be announced.

After playing successfully to packed houses in the West End and followed by a short five week tour, The Bunbury Company of Players' production of Oscar Wilde's much loved and witty masterpiece THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST will come to the Theatre Royal Glasgow for one week only.

Nigel Havers, Christine Kavanagh and Siân Phillips will reunite as The Bunbury Company of Players, an extremely experienced cast of serious comedic actors, to reprise their roles as Algernon Moncrieff, Cecily Cardew and Lady Bracknell from the West End and introduce Oscar Wilde's genius afresh to a new audience. Dubbed by Wilde 'a trivial comedy for serious people', the production delivers an entirely faithful, but completely unique, setting to one of the greatest theatrical comedies.

Acclaimed director Lucy Bailey, together with comic novelist, Simon Brett, and the innovative theatre designer William Dudley created a delightful new context for the play which enchanted audiences across the UK last year.

Nigel Havers returns to the role of Algernon Moncrieff having performed in last year's production, and also in Sir Peter Hall's 1982 production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre. Siân Phillips joins him to once again play Lady Bracknell, a role she performed to excellent reviews in Washington, and Christine Kavanagh will reprise her role as Cecily Cardew.

Rupert Gavin, producer for Incidental Colman, said "I am absolutely delighted that in our 34th year as a producing company with a long tradition in comedy, we are reprising our celebratory milestone 100th production - warmly received in the West end - with a U.K. wide tour of that landmark comedy in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest. For this, we have drawn together an exceptional creative team, a group of brilliant comedic actors, and we bring of course, a twist to proceedings, that you would only expect of us."

Nigel Havers, said: "This production is very close to my heart and we had a ball doing it in the West End last summer. I'm thrilled we get to do it all again and hope audiences in Glasgow will laugh and enjoy watching our twist on Oscar's brilliant play as much as we enjoy performing it."

The Importance of Being Earnest elegantly lampoons the hypocrisies of Victorian society and opens as two bachelors, the dependable, John Worthing, J.P. and upper class playboy Algernon Moncrieff (Nigel Havers), feel compelled to create different identities in order to pursue two eligible ladies Cecily Cardew (Christine Kavanagh) and Gwendolyn Fairfax. The hilarious misadventures which result from their subterfuge; their brushes with the redoubtable Lady Bracknell (Siân Phillips) and the uptight Miss Prism result in a plot that twists and fizzles with some of the finest dialogue to be found in theatre.

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