The Importance of Being Earnest

Two London bachelors, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, invent alter egos - Jack as the rakish "Ernest" and Algernon's imaginary invalid "Bunbury" - to escape social duties and indulge in city pleasures. When both deceptions land them pursuing the strangely insistent Gwendolen (who will only marry an "Ernest") and attract the formidable attention of Lady Bracknell, their tangled identities spark a riot of witty misunderstandings. Oscar Wilde's razor-sharp comedy exposes the absurdities of Victorian manners with sparkling dialogue, mistaken identities, and a delightful lesson in the value of being truly "earnest."