Cast Announced For THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at Watermill Theatre

The Watermill Theatre announces the cast for Oscar Wilde's comic masterpiece THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST which runs at the theatre from Thursday 23 May to Saturday 29 June. Wilde's most enduring play in which Victorian hypocrisies are laid bare is directed by Kate Budgen who says:

'The Importance of Being Earnest is an absolute gift for any theatre maker to work on and for an audience to watch. I'm thrilled to be discovering it for the beautiful Watermill Theatre and to breathe new life into such a well-known and loved classic. Oscar Wilde knew all the secrets of Victorian Society and I'm looking forward to digging through the many layers of wit, wisdom and wordplay to discover characters who are flawed, funny and undeniably human.'

The cast includes Charlotte Beaumont as Cecily (Chloe Latimer in Broadchurch, Kudos for ITV; Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's Globe; 3 Winters, Lyttleton Theatre), Peter Bray as Algernon (The Heart Of Robin Hood, RSC; Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's Globe; Sleeping Beauty, Watermill Theatre), Jim Creighton as Dr Chasuble (The Best Man - UK Tour/West End; An Enemy of The People, National Theatre; Journey's End, Watermill Theatre), Claudia Jolly as Gwendolyn (Girl From The North Country, Old Vic/West End; Men, Arcola Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe), Wendy Nottingham as Miss Prism (Vera Drake, Grief, National Theatre; Diminished, Hampstead Theatre; The Winslow Boy, The Old Vic), Morgan Philpott as Lane/Merriman (Partners In Crime, Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch; The Secret Adversary, Watermill Theatre), Benedict Salter as Jack (Lady Windermere's Fan, West End; A Little Night Music, Watermill Theatre) and Connie Walker as Lady Bracknell (Trestle, Southwark Playhouse; The March on Russia, Orange Tree Theatre; To Kill A Mockingbird, Regent's Park/UK Tour/Barbican).

Jack Worthing lives a double life between his idyllic manor in the country and his stylish town house in the capital. To those who know Jack in the countryside, he is the epitome of respectfulness, devoted to providing a sound upbringing for his ward Cecily and often rushing into London to look after his wayward brother Ernest. To those who Jack entertains in the city, he is known as Ernest: an indulgent bachelor who loves nothing more than doing nothing, often accompanied by his mischievous friend Algernon. It is a secret to nearly everyone that Ernest doesn't actually exist!

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is designed by Amy Jane Cook, lighting is designed by Sally Ferguson and sound design is by Jon McLeod.