| Description | Press and magazine cuttings of reviews of 'The Importance of Being Ernest' with photographs and illustrations of members of the cast and cast lists; typescript inside front cover gives cast lists for 1895 to 1934 and dates; includes printed flyer [1939]; press and magazine extracts with photographs of cast members in scenes from the play; also includes magazine extract with photographs of stills from the 1952 film version of 'The Importance of Being Ernest'
Performed originally at: St James's Theatre, London, 14 Feb 1895
Revived at: St James's Theatre, London, 30 Nov 1909 (324 performances); St James's Theatre, London, 26 Jun 1911; The Haymarket Theatre, London, 21 Nov 1923, closing performance, 12 Jan 1924; presented by Frederick Harrison in conjunction with Ernest Benham and John Deverell; produced by Allen Aynsworth; The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 7 Jul 1930, closing performance, 6 Oct 1930; produced by Nigel Playfair
The Old Vic Theatre, London, 5 Feb 1934 (4 weeks); produced by Tyrone Guthrie; settings and costumes by Molly MacArthur; music directed by Herbert Menges; The Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 31 Jan 1939 (8 matinees); presented by H. M. Tennent Ltd; directed by John Gielgud; decor by Motley; The Globe Theatre, London, 16 Aug 1939, closing performance, 2 Sep 1939; presented by H. M. Tennent Ltd; directed by John Gielgud; decor by Motley; The Globe Theatre, London, 26 Dec 1939, closing performance, 24 Feb 1940; presented by H. M. Tennent Ltd; directed by John Gielgud; decor by Motley; The Phoenix Theatre, London, 14 Oct 1942; presented by H. M. Tennent Ltd; directed by John Gielgud; decor by Motley
America: The The Comedy Theatre, New York, 1926; transferred to: The Ritz Theatre, New York Jun 1926
Revived at The Vanderbilt Theatre, New York, 12 Jan 1939; The Royale Theatre, New York, 3 Mar 1947; presented by the Theatre Guild and John C. Wilson in association with H. M. Tennent Ltd; produced by John Gielgud
Casts: George Alexander, Allan Aynesworth, H. Vincent, F. Kinsey Peile, Frank Dyall, Rose Leqlerq, Irene Vanbrugh, Evelyn Millard, Mrs. George Canninge, E. Vivian Reynold, T. Weguelin, Erik Stirling, Helen Rous, Stella Patrick Campbell, Rosalie Toller, Alice Beet, Hamilton Revelle, A. E. Matthews, E. V. Reynolds, A. Royston, G. Kemmis, Dorothy Green, Gladys Cooper, Leslie Faber, John Deverell, H. Nicholson, Douglas Jeffries, W. Walton Palmer, Margaret Scudamore, Doris Kendall, Doris Atkin, Louise Hampton, Betty Sturgess, John Gielgud, Anthony Ireland, Charles Staite, Richard Caldicott, Scott Russell, Mabel Terry Lewis, Iris Baker, Heather Angel, Jean Cadell, Athene Seyler, Roger Livesey, George Curzon, Flora Robson, Ursula Jeans, Elsa Lanchester, Charles Laughton, Morland Graham, James Mason, Edith Evans, Angela Baddeley, Joyce Carey, Margaret Rutherford, Felix Irwin, Leon Quartermaine, David Horne, Ronald Ward, John Justin, Clive Wood, Jack Hawkins, George Howe, Kingstone Trollope, Douglas Malcolm, Cyril Ritchard, J. H. Roberts, Deering Wells, John Milton, Vernon Steel, Reginald Owen, Dudley Digges, Haroldine Humphreys, Patricia Collinge, Clifton Webb, Derek Williams, Estelle Winwood, Hope Williams, Florence McGee, Robert Flemyng, John Kidd, Pamela Brown, Jane Baxter, Richard Wordworth, Stringer Davis, Donald Bain, Pardoe Woodman, Edith Evans, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies, Peggy Ashcroft
Cast for film version: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Edith Evans, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson, Aubrey Mather |