Further cast revealed for The Importance of Being Earnest with Olly Alexander in the West End

Exclusive: Further casting has been confirmed for the National Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest, which will transfer to the West End in September.

Oscar Wilde’s treasured comedy about hidden identities, cucumber sandwiches and unexpected romances will open at the Noël Coward Theatre this autumn, in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions.

Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre and a cinema broadcast through National Theatre Live (where it starred Ncuti Gatwa and Sharon D Clarke), the show will begin performances on 18 September 2025 and continue until 10 January 2026. Over 20,000 tickets are available for under £30 across the run.

Directed by Max Webster, the production will feature the previously revealed Olly Alexander in the role of Algernon Moncrieff.

Joining him will be Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Jack Worthing, Hugh Dennis as Rev Canon Chasuble, Shobna Gulati as Miss Prism, Kitty Hawthorne as Gwendolen Fairfax, Jessica Whitehurst as Cecily Cardew, Hayley Carmichael as Merriman/Lane, and Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell.

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Stewart-Jarrett exclusively told WhatsOnStage: “I am delighted to join this fabulous team to tell Wilde’s naughty and subversive story in London’s West End! The Importance of Being Earnest is more than 100 years old but is a joyous play and just as resonant in 2025. I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of it.”

Webster, who recently directed Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse and Life of Pi in both the West End and on Broadway, leads a creative team that includes set and costume designer Rae Smith, lighting designer Jon Clark, sound designer Nicola T Chang, movement director Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, and composer DJ Walde. Additional team members include physical comedy advisor Joyce Henderson, intimacy coordinator Ingrid Mackinnon, casting director Alastair Coomer, and dialect coach Hazel Holder.

The director commented: “Oscar Wilde was a master of elegance, rebellion, and razor-sharp wit. With this cast – led by the audacious brilliance of Olly Alexander, the hugely captivating Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and the legendary Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell – we’re embracing the play’s subversive heart in a way that feels utterly now. I’d like to think Wilde would be delighted – and perhaps even a little scandalised – by this bold, joyful take on his most iconic comedy.”

You can listen to Sonia Friedman on a recent episode of the WhatsOnStage Podcast – all for free – here: