Resident company of The Attic Theatre
Resident company of The Attic Theatre
No.1 Fringe Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon
Resident company of The Attic Theatre
Tread the Boards Theatre Company presents
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
by Oscar Wilde
16 July to 31 July
£15 (£12 conc)
Contact us to discuss access requirements
A Trivial Comedy for Serious people
The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde’s glorious comedy of manners. It’s the story of two bachelors, John ‘Jack’ Worthing and Algernon ‘Algy’ Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. They attempt to win the hearts of Gwendolyn and Cecily who, conveniently, claim to only love men called Ernest. The pair struggle to keep up with their own stories and become tangled in a tale of deception, disguise and misadventure.
COVID19 precautions: Our seating capacity has been reduced and is unallocated for the present, in order to allow space between groups when seated. We would appreciate it if you wore a mask when moving around the building but masks are not required while seated in the theatre.
CREATIVES INCLUDE
Director JOHN-ROBERT PARTRIDGE
Lighting Design: Kat Murray
Sound Design: Elliott Wallis
Set Design: Lucy Callender
Producer: Catherine Prout
Costume: John Bale
CAST INCLUDES
Pete Meredith - Algernon Moncrieff
Robert Moore - Jack Worthing
Matilda Bott - Cecily Cardew
Ali Hellings - Gwendolyn Fairfax
Lesley Wilcox - Lady Bracknell
Edward Manning - Dr Chasuable / Lane
Dawn Bush - Miss Prism
FRONT OF HOUSE & BOX OFFICE
Denise & Kevin Prout, James Morrison
Pete Meredith - Algernon Moncrieff
Acting Credits with TTB: Pip in Great Expectations, Jean Claude Van Dumb in Beauty and the Beast, The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, Will Scarlet in Robin Hood, Dame Gladys Trott in Jack and the Bean Stalk, Adam in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Edmund in King Lear, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Puck in A Midsummer Nights Dream
Additional Acting Credits: James I in Anne Boleyn (The Loft Theatre), Ransom Foster in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (The Criterion Theatre)
Robert Moore - Jack Worthing
Acting Credits with TTB: Sherlock Holmes (Hound of the Baskervilles), Robin Hood (Robin Hood), Ugly Sister (Cinderella), Herbert Pocket (Great Expectations), Billy Bones (Treasure Island), Poor Tom (King Lear), Don Jon (Much Ado About Nothing), Tin Man (Wizard of Oz), Mr Collins (Pride & Prejudice), King Edward (Richard III), Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Additional Acting Credits: Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Copenhagen Botanical Gardens), Mr Bingley (Pride & Quite a lot of Prejudice, Worcester Rep), Sebastian (Twelfth Night, Worcester Rep), Mr Toad (Wind in the Willows, MadCap Theatre), Orlando (As You Like It, MadCap Theatre), Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing, MadCap Theatre), Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, MadCap Theatre), Andrew Aguecheek (Twelfth Night, MadCap Theatre), Spear Carrier (King Lear & Coriolanus, Royal Shakespeare Company)
Matilda Bott - Cecily Cardew
Acting Credits with TTB: 'Little John’ in Robin Hood, ‘Cinderella’ in Cinderella, ‘Pirate’ in Treasure Island, ‘Cordelia/The Fool’ in King Lear, ‘Dogberry’ in Much Ado About Nothing, ‘Dorothy’ in Wizard of Oz, ‘Kitty Bennet/Lady Catherine De Burgh’ in Pride and Prejudice, ‘Hermia/Snout’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ‘Lady Anne’ in Richard III, ‘The Maid’ in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Additional Acting Credits: ‘Grandma’ in Soonchild (Red Earth Theatre), ‘Lady Catherine De Burgh’ and ‘Lydia Bennet’ in Pride and (quite a lot of) Prejudice , ‘Maria’ in Twelfth Night (Worcester Repertory Theatre), ‘Duchess’ in There Be Monsters (The Fabularium), ‘Beatrice’ in Much Ado About Nothing, ‘Hermia/Flute’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ‘Phebe’ in As You Like It, ‘Mole’ in Wind in the Willows (Madcap Theatre Company), ‘Sammi’ in Animal Lullabies (Secret City Arts), ‘Mouse’ in The Gruffallo Experience (Unit 10 Eventive), ‘Adrianna’ in The Comedy of Errors, ‘Seer’ in Jason and the Argonauts (Off The Ground Theatre), ‘Defence Lawyer’ in Courtroom, Anna/Clare’ in Perfect (Tiny Giants Productions)
Ali Hellings - Gwendolyn Fairfax
Acting Credits with TTB: Peter Pan (2015 Edinburgh Fringe Tour)
Additional Acting Credits: Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz for Pandemonium Productions; Kate in The Happy Funeral at The Market Theatre in Hitchin; Venus in How To Bury Your Sins (short film for the University of Greenwich), and Bianca/The Duke of Venice in Othello for QuirkSpace Productions.
She has worked locally for the Worcester Repertory Company as Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, Amy Spettigue in Charley’s Aunt, “Carol” in Bah Humbug, and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. She has also appeared in a variety of other touring theatre productions and promotional and corporate films.
Alison is originally from Worcester and trained at the University of Cumbria in Performing Arts. Credits whilst training include Rosalind in As You Like It, Emma in Contractions and Ma Ubu in Ubu Roi
Lesley Wilcox - Lady Bracknell
Acting Credits with TTB: Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
Additional Information: Lesley trained at LAMDA and has worked in the theatre both as a performer and teacher for over 20 years.
She has taught acting at many institutions, schools and universities including The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire of Acting and at Stratford Upon Avon College where she collaborated with the RSC to develop a course for gifted and talented 14 year olds.
Website: https://www.lesleysimms-actingcoach.com/
Agent: www.qandtmanagement.com
Dawn Bush - Miss Prism
Acting Credits with TTB: Dawn Bush is delighted to be returning to The Attic in not one, but two of her favourite plays. She has previously appeared with Tread the Boards in Pygmalion in 2019, and also Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride and Prejudice and Henry V.
Additional Credits: The Ladykillers and Arrivals and Departures for Here to There; Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility (both of which were her own adaptations for the stage) Robin Hood, A Woman of No Importance, The Importance of Being Earnest, all for Dot Productions. Dawn has also appeared on screen in the Martin Lewis Money Show and The One Show; Perspective Interactive for Sky Arts Educational; a couple of commercials and a few roles in short films. Her second book, A Feast of Tales, Gently Twisted, is due to be released in November.
Edward Manning - Dr Chasuable / Lane
Acting Credits with TTB: Macbeth, Henry V, Casting, Wuthering Heights, Brontë, The Diary of Anne Frank, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, King Lear, Macbeth
Additional Acting Credits: The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Unhealthy Cure, King John, Charley’s Aunt, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Twelfth Night, Pride and Prejudice (Worcester Rep).
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Edward lives in south Warwickshire with his wife and when not acting he works for the National Trust and enjoys spy novels and Marillion.
John-Robert Partridge - Director
As Artistic Director of Tread the Boards John-Robert enjoys programming something light-hearted for the summer and this favorite of Oscar Wilde's witty comedy's is a great tonic for all to see.
Directing Credits with TTB include: Richard III, King Lear, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, Macbeth
Acting Credits with TTB include: MacDuff in Macbeth, Richard III in Richard III, Henry V in Henry V, Branwell in Bronte, Toad in The Wind in the Willows, The Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, Dame Dotty in Beauty and the Beast,
Additional Acting Credits: Evil Queen in Snow White (Worcester Rep), Earnest in The Importance of Being Earnest (Worcester Rep), Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles (Worcester Rep)