The Importance Of Being Earnest

First performed on February 14, 1895 at St. James’s Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome obligations. The play’s major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play’s humor, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages.