This classic play lampoons the Victorians' obsession with wealth, breeding and propriety and is now recognised as one of the most brilliant and glittering comedies in the English language.

The delightful plot which takes us from London to Hertfordshire, via some of the wittiest dialogue ever written, sees Jack who has invented a fictional younger brother named Earnest so, as this alias, he can live in London free from all responsibilities.

He decides it is necessary to reclaim Jack and 'kill off' Earnest when he falls in love with a wealthy heiress, Gwendolen. Unfortunately, his opportunity to propose marriage to Gwendolen comes before he has told her his real name, and she is thrilled with the proposal because she has always been convinced she is destined to marry a man named Earnest.

Add to this a missing baby and a magnificent matriarch in Lady Bracknell and you have what Wilde described as a trivial comedy for serious people.