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The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Additional text, "On the Language of Fans", by Alistair Newton.
Upcoming Tickets & Shows
March 24, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 25, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 26, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
March 27, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
March 28, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
March 28, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
March 29, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
March 31, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
April 1, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
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April 3, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
April 4, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
April 4, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
April 5, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
April 7, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
April 8, 2026 | 1:00pm Get Tickets
April 8, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
April 9, 2026 | 7:30pm Get Tickets
April 10, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
April 11, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
April 11, 2026 | 8:00pm Get Tickets
April 12, 2026 | 2:00pm Get Tickets
Oscar Wilde’s hilarious classic of two friends, lost in love, navigating a series of entirely avoidable misadventures.
GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR PARTIES OF 10+! LEARN MORE.
Meet Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, two close friends who have one solution to all of their problems – lying!
Both lead double lives … Jack uses the fake persona of ‘Ernest’ to escape his responsibilities, while Algernon invents an imaginary friend to dodge social obligations. When both men fall in love with eligible ladies, they must untangle a web of lies, misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and hilarious situations to win their hearts. Will they be able to keep up the ruse?
Considered one of Oscar Wilde’s greatest and most enduring works, The Importance of Being Earnest is a guaranteed laugh-out-loud celebration of wit, wordplay, and social satire. The familiar romp of friendship and falsehoods comes to the stage with an exciting new voice – Lady Stella Clinton, based on the real-life 19th Century queer trailblazer of the same name and penned by Director Alistair Newton. Expect the visual perfection of the Victorian era, with all characters pressed and dressed in stunningly opulent designs by Judith Bowden and a strikingly vibrant and stylized production. With its clever humour and playful commentary of Victorian society, the play remains as deliciously entertaining today as it was over a century ago - if not more so.
"I am thrilled to welcome Alistair Newton to the Grand for the first time. Alistair directed the visually stunning (and sold out) production of Witness for the Prosecution at Shaw in 2024 and will bring his signature bold aesthetic to breathe fresh life into this fantastic script."
- Rachel Peake, Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre
Enhance Your Experience
On select Wednesday evenings, immediately after the performance, join host Breanne Ritchie in the theatre's lounge for a brief guided discussion with guest artists, creative team members, and Grand staff members.
Join us for creative conversations pre-show with host Rachel Peake and special guests connected to the show. Tea Talks begin at 12:00pm before the Wednesday 1:00pm matinée.
For patrons who are Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or who enjoy watching a performance with surtitles, we invite you to sit in house right of the Orchestra for best viewing of the Open Captions screen. Click the link below or call the Box Office for more information: 519-672-8800.
The Cast
For the Grand Theatre: A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Life of Pi (Citadel/RMTC); Sakura, Thy Woman’s Weeds (Centaur Theatre); Birthday Candles, American Fast (City Theatre); The Supine Cobbler, Behaviour, The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (GCTC); Intractable Woman, If We Are Birds (Imago); The Tempest (Pittsburgh Public); A Thousand Splendid Suns (Vancouver Arts Club); Dust (ATP); Rice Boy (Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival); Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night (Repercussion Theatre); Another Home Invasion (Tableau d’Hôte Theatre); The Aeneid (Talisman Theatre).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Transplant (CTV); Plan B, Diggstown, This Life (CBC); Helix, Being Human (SyFy).
For The Grand Theatre: Cabaret.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Menier Chocolate Factory in London, New World Stages off-Broadway); La Cage aux Folles, Wendy and Peter Pan (Stratford Festival); Damn Yankees, Grand Hotel, Oh What A Lovely War (Shaw Festival); Mythic (Segal Centre); Master Harold... and the boys (Shaw Festival/Obsidian Theatre).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Letterkenny (Crave); Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake (CBC); Workin’ Moms (Netflix).
Other: James Daly is an award-winning Canadian Actor. He is a proud graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. @jamespatrickdaly
For the Grand Theatre: Debut.
Theatre Credits: Fairview (Search Party Productions); Much Ado About Nothing (Bard on the Beach).
Other: Graduate of Studio58’s theatre conservatory.
For the Grand Theatre: The Invisible, Controlled Damage.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Life After (Yonge Street); Titaníque (Mirvish/Segal); Kiss Me, Kate (Drayton); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (1st US National Tour, Arts Club); Waitress (Capitol); Serving Elizabeth (Aquarius); Radio City Christmas Spectacular (NY); The Sound of Music (WCT); Cabaret, Trifles, The Light in the Piazza (Shaw); Camelot (Stratford); Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway/Stratford/La Jolla); Sweeney Todd (Citadel); Niagara Symphony Orchestra.
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Star Trek: SNW, Workin' Moms, Reign, Good Witch, Christmas Movie Magic, Mayday, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, America's Got Talent, The View, The Tony Awards.
Other: @kaylee.harwood
For the Grand Theatre: Einstein's Gift, A Streetcar Named Desire, Miracle On 34th Street, The Turn of the Screw.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Witness for the Prosecution (Drayton Entertainment); A Niagara Christmas Carol, Screwball Comedy (The Foster Festival); Middletown (Crow’s Theatre); King Lear (Lincoln Center Theater); Blithe Spirit, An Inspector Calls (Theatre Aquarius); The Homecoming, Medea (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Festival of Classics). Over 40 productions and 26 seasons combined with the Shaw and Stratford Festivals.
Film and TV Credits: Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Elizabeth Rex (Rhombus Media).
Other: Graduate of the University of Windsor’s BFA program. Love and thanks to Tom, Liam, Anwen, Kate, Nikki & family!
For the Grand Theatre: Debut.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Kinky Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Lucky Stiff, and many, many pantos (Drayton); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Stage West); Cinderella... if the Shoe Fits (Orangeville); Camelot (VPP); Dancing Lessons (Miracle Theatre); Back in '59 (Thousand Islands); Pal Joey, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Emily (TiFT); Stonecliff (Yukon/Alaska); Snow White and 007 (Ross Petty); Honk! (Globe); Our Town, Sweeney Todd, Peter and the Starcatcher, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, Major Barbara, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Moon for the Misbegotten, Saint Joan (Shaw Festival).
Other: Director: The Judas Kiss (Talk is Free Theatre). Graduate of Sheridan College. @billyonthelake (he/they)
For the Grand Theatre: Performer: The Lion in Winter, Dry Streak, A Christmas Carol (2008), Four years with the High School Project. Director: One Year.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Angels in America (That Theatre Company), The Divine, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide, Dracula, Sex, Getting Married, Major Barbara, Misalliance, French Without Tears, Cabaret, Our Betters, O'Flaherty, V.C., An Ideal Husband, Serious Money, The Sea, St. Joan, On the Rocks, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (Shaw Festival), The Sylvia Project, Red (Theatre Kingston), Gaslight (Chemainus Theatre Festival).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Malory Towers (BBC), Fellow Travelers (AMC), Mistletoe Murders (Hallmark), Cross, Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+), Hudson and Rex (City TV), Transplant (CTV), Locke and Key (Netflix), Five Days at Memorial (Apple TV), Queen Tut (Fae Pictures), What We Do in the Shadows (FX).
For the Grand Theatre: Debut.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Cannibal: The Musical (Starvox Entertainment in Denver, CO); Fifteen Dogs (Mirvish, Segal Centre, Crow’s Theatre); Into The Woods (RCM); Christmastown (Capitol Theatre); NEW (RMTC, Canadian Stage); Mamma Mia! (Drayton Entertainment).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): The Testaments (Hulu); The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto (Museum of Toronto); Life with Luca (Family Channel); SkyMed (CBC); Sisters (Factory Theatre); Brothers in the Kitchen (Hot Docs Film Festival); The Next Step S1,2 (Temple Street Productions).
Creative Team
For the Grand Theatre: Debut.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Witness for the Prosecution (Shaw Festival, Revival at Drayton Entertainment); Love and Information, King Lear (Canadian Stage); Of a Monstrous Child: a gaga musical (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre/Ecce Homo Theatre).
Other: Gradate of both BFA programs at the University of Victoria and York University. Canadian Stage's joint MFA program in stage direction. Dora Award-nominated playwright (Of a Monstrous Child). Instructed at University of Victoria, Dalhousie University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and George Brown College.
For the Grand Theatre: Waitress, Juno’s Reward
Theatre Credits (Selected): Gypsy, Brigadoon, A Grand Night For Singing (Shaw Festival), Cinderella: The Panto, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Panto, Memories of the Rat Pack, Glory Days, Memphis To Motown (Lighthouse Festival), Home for the Holidays, A Hamilton Holiday (Theatre Aquarius), Bad Hats’ Peter Pan (YES Theatre).
Other: Stephen was nominated for a 2024 London Music Award after releasing his debut album Fridge Magnet Symphony and is releasing his sophomore album later this year. @stephenjamesingram
Grand Theatre: Debut.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Choreographer: Cinderella: The Panto, Kinky Boots, Sleeping Beauty Panto, Disney’s Newsies, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Wizard Of Oz Panto (Drayton); La Cage aux Folles, Wendy and Peter Pan (Stratford Festival); Chris, Mrs. (Winter Garden); Mamma Mia! (Aquarius/Western); Beauty and the Beast (Neptune).
Film and TV Credits (Selected): Once Upon A Time (ABC); Schitt’s Creek (Netflix); Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu); Zoeys Ex. Playlist (NBC); Let’s Go Luna (PBS Kids); Full Out (Netflix); Cirque Du Soleil, Olympic Ceremony (Cirque Eloise); Canada’s Got Talent (choreographer); Ukulele U (ass. Choreographer); Cineplex, Tim Hortons and Pizza Hut commercials. International artists, Psy (MMVAs), Deborah Cox, Fefe Dobson, Classified. Choreographer (T.D.C Ent.).
Other: Love and thanks to my family, and friends. @georgeabsi
For the Grand: Fall on Your Knees, Einstein’s Gift, Beauty and the Beast.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Set and Costume Design: Ransacking Troy (Stratford Festival); Othello (Royal Shakespeare Company); Tons of Money, The Apple Cart, Playboy of the Western World, Saint Joan, The Lady Killers, The Ideal Husband, Grand Hotel, Sweeney Todd, Peter and the Star Catcher, Sunday in the Park with George, White Christmas, Holiday Inn, A Room of One’s Own (Shaw Festival). Costume Design: Fall on Your Knees (Canadian Stage, National Arts Centre, Grand Theatre, Neptune Theatre); Cabaret, The Secret Garden (Shaw Festival). More than 25 seasons with the Shaw Festival.
For the Grand Theatre: The Secret to Good Tea.
Theatre Credits (Selected): Witch, The Comeuppance, Alligator Pie, De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail, The Walk-Up (Soulpepper); Octet, The Bidding War (Crow’s); Romeo & Juliet, Playing Shylock (Canadian Stage); Infinite Life (Coal Mine); Forgiveness, Cymbeline (Stratford); Love You Forever and More Munsch, The Fixing Girl (YPT); Mad Madge (Nightwood); Here Lies Henry, Armadillos (Factory Theatre); Between a Wok and a Hot Pot (Cahoots); Iris Says Goodbye (Mixtape Projects/Toronto Fringe); Legally Blonde (Theatre Sheridan), ECHO (Next Stage); A Sapphic Affair (Stages Theatre Festival).
Other: oliviagwheeler.com
