The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Play of the Month 1974)

BBC Play of the Month, 1974, based on the Play "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.

Directed by James MacTaggart.
Starring: Coral Browne, Michael Jaystone, Julian Holloway, Gemma Jones, Celia Bannerman, Lally Bowers and Richard Pearson.

In 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.

The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage and the resulting satire of Victorian conformity. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest a very popular play.

The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off, and Queensberry was refused admission. Their feud came to a climax in court in April 1895 when Wilde sued for libel. The proceedings provided enough evidence for Wilde’s arrest, trial, and conviction on charges of 'gross indecency'. Wilde's homosexuality was revealed to the Victorian public, and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour. Despite the play's early success, Wilde's notoriety caused it to be closed after 86 performances. After his release from prison, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no more comic or dramatic works.