Interactive play ‘The Importance of Being… Earnest?’ makes Coventry audiences the stars of the show

After phenomenally critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe runs and London Fringe theatre success, it takes a wildly interactive twist on the classic comedy, making the audience the true stars of the show.

The show opens to looming disaster; the actor playing Ernest fails to arrive on cue and 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.

The “official” cast includes the cream of the crop of UK improv including Lucy Trodd (a founding member of Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical), Amy Cooke-Hodgeson, (a founding member of award-winning comedy hit Austentatious, who has starred in multiple UK tours, Edinburgh Fringe runs and on BBC Radio 4’s recording of the show) and Tom Bulpett (who starred in The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre in the West End). But more and more audience members are encouraged to step into the spotlight and are led backstage for costume and make-up; impromptu auditions are held, portraits are painted, mantras are chanted as everyone does whatever is needed to help the show go on. It’s an absurd controlled madness that ensues until it feels as if there are almost as many audience members in the cast as there are in the... audience.

This is a comedic masterpiece of meticulous logistics, meritoriously involved audiences and masterful stage management. ‘The Importance of Being... Earnest?’ Is an exciting and hilarious experience both to watch and be part of as the innovative format creates an unexpected new experience every night. It’s a show for anyone who has enjoyed the high-jinx of The Play That Goes Wrong, Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare and Austentatious.

Developed alongside the company’s flagship open-rehearsal initiative, where audiences are invited into the rehearsal room to participate in the creative process, the show is written by Josh King, Simon Paris and Say It Again, Sorry?, and is directed by Simon Paris.

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 IMPORTANCE OF BEING… EARNEST? will play at the Belgrade Theatre, Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1GS, Thursday, 2 November - Saturday, 4 November 2023, 7:30PM (+ 2:00PM on Sat) https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/the-importance-of-being-earnest/