TEHRAN – Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde’s romantic comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest” will go on stage at Arghavan Theater in Tehran on January 9.

Mahsa Chizari will direct the play based on a translation by Ayyub Aqakhani. Chizari and producer Mohammad Vosuqi will also play roles in the performance.

Diana Javid-Musavi, Ahmad Bisotuni, Zahra Modir, Samir Lotfi, Fatemeh Taheri, Jalia Shakeri and Meisam Azizi are the other members of the cast.

Wilde’s madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements and lovers’ entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. 

The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school curriculum for decades.

Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gwendolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack’s ward, Cecily. 

When all four arrive at Jack’s country home on the same weekend the “rivals” to fight for Ernest’s undivided attention and the “Ernests” to claim their beloveds pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded handbag can save the day!

“The Importance of Being Earnest” was first performed on February 14, 1895 at the St James’s Theatre in London. 

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 ways. 

Some contemporary reviews praised the play’s humor and the culmination of Wilde’s artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. 

Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play.

Photo: A poster for the play “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

MMS/YAW