The Importance of being Ridiculusmus

In a landmark collaboration with Barbican in London, Brisbane Powerhouse will present the world premiere season of UK comedy duo Ridiculusmus’ reworking of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest for a strictly limited season from Friday April 1 to Saturday April 9, 2005.

Deconstructing one of the most popular plays in British theatre history, the award winning UK duo bring their unique brand of fierce comedy to Wilde’s razor sharp dissection of high society.

Far from a conventional version of the play, all of the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest are played by David Woods and Jon Haynes of Ridiculusmus. Woods and Haynes of Ridiculusmus are returning to Australia following the success of Ideas Men in 2004.

This production of The Importance of Being Earnest is the first time the company has worked on a classic text or collaborated with a director. Jude Kelly, former Artistic Director and Chief Executive of West Yorkshire Playhouse and current Director of Metal, will direct the production.

Warning that Oscar Wilde purists may be challenged by the production, Kelly says “audiences can expect a performance that questions and occasionally debases the original text.”

Kelly says the production “disregards convention and reinterprets the original play to create a new and entertainingly absurd and chaotic post modern take on The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Following the World Premiere of this work at Brisbane Powerhouse Ridiculusmus return to London where they will perform at BITE: 05 Barbican Theatre and the Edinburgh Festival.

With the immortal line “a handbag?” up for grabs, Ridiculusmus’s comic two handed version of the Wilde great promises an Earnest like you've never seen before

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The Importance of Being Earnest

Company: Ridiculusmus
Venue: Brisbane Powerhouse
Dates: April 1 - 9, 2005