The Importance of Being Oscar
Park Theatre
- Opens: Wednesday, 22 July 2026 -
Booking until: Saturday, 22 August 2026 - Running time: 1hr 50min.
The Importance of Being Oscar description
There are few literary figures as larger-than-life as Oscar Wilde — the brilliant, witty, audacious man whose genius dazzled Victorian London before society turned against him. The Importance of Being Oscar brings his extraordinary story to life in a way no biography ever could, with Alastair Whatley commanding the stage alone in a tour de force performance hailed as ★★★★★ "truly magnificent… phenomenal to watch" by Theatre and Tonic.
Written by the celebrated Irish writer and Wilde devotee Micheál Mac Liammóir, this iconic one-man play conjures Oscar's dazzling rise and devastating fall through his own immortal words. We meet the man behind the legend — witty and defiant, passionate and proud — as he holds court in drawing rooms, faces the courtroom that would destroy him, and reflects on a life lived entirely without compromise.
This is Oscar as you've never encountered him before: real, raw, and utterly compelling. Through Whatley's extraordinary portrayal, we discover the creator of The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and The Picture of Dorian Gray not merely as a literary giant, but as a flesh-and-blood human being who dared to be himself in an age that demanded conformity.
Directed with exquisite precision by Michael Fentiman — the acclaimed director of Amélie, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — and produced by the Olivier-nominated Original Theatre (known for Being Mr Wickham, The Interview, and Birdsong), this is a production of rare theatrical distinction.
Following a triumphant UK tour, The Importance of Being Oscar arrives at the Park Theatre for a limited London run. If you've ever been captivated by Wilde's words or moved by his story, this is unmissable — intimate, beautiful, and utterly unforgettable.
