Geoffrey Rush to Play Lady Bracknell in Importance of Being Earnest in Melbourne

Tony Award winner Geoffrey Rush will play Lady Bracknell in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, to run November 12 – December 30, 2011. Simon Phillips will direct the production, which will be designed by Tony Tripp.

Wilde’s classic comedy about the foibles of the upper echelons of British society will also feature Jane Menelaus, Bob Hornery, Christie Whelan and Toby Schmitz. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Rush won the Tony for his performance in Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King. Among his other stage credits are The Drowsy Chaperone and Diary of a Madman, which, as previously reported, will be seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February. The actor is perhaps best known for his film work, including his Academy Award winning performance in Shine and The Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The Importance of Being Earnest will conclude the Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2011 season, which will also feature the Australian premieres of Martin McDonagh’s A Behanding in Spokane (February 5 – March 19), Alexi Kaye Campbell’s Apologia (February 18 – April 2), Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Next to Normal (April 28 – May 28), and Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park (September 17 – October 22).

The season will also include world premieres of David Williamson’s Don Parties On (January 8 – February 12), Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Gift (May 28 – July 2), Robert Reid’s The Joy of Text (June 10 – July 23), and Lally Katz’s Return to Earth (November 4 – December 17). Other productions in the season include Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (April 7 – May 14), Shakespeare’s Hamlet (July 19 – August 27), and Tim Winton’s Rising Water (August 5 – September 10).

For further information, visit: www.mtc.com.au.