Interactive twist on classic comedy coming to Exeter

After a phenomenally critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run in 2022, and previous London Fringe theatre success, the hugely popular ‘The Importance of Being… Earnest?’ is embarking on a UK tour, and will play Exeter's Northcott Theatre next month (March).

In this riotous twist on a much-loved classic the show opens to looming disaster; the actor playing Ernest in Oscar Wilde’s famed farce fails to arrive on cue. In a monumental effort to ‘save the show’, a real audience member is quickly cast in the lead role. 

But this impetuous recasting sets off a hilarious chain of events that, one-by-one, renders the rest of the cast unable to continue their performances.

As more audience members are encouraged to step into the spotlight, led backstage for costume and make-up, impromptu auditions, the painting of portraits, the chanting of mantras; doing whatever’s needed to help the show go on, an absurd controlled madness ensues – until it feels as if there are almost as many audience members in the cast as there are in the ... audience.

A spokesperson said: "The company’s vision is for the public to recover ownership over their own creative power and contribute to the future of theatre as active participants, collaborators, and decision-makers. Their aim is to connect people to their inner artist and inspire creative expression in everybody."

The play is at Exeter Northcott on Thursday, 14 March - Saturday, 16 March 2024.