Can you imagine, Ncuti Gatwa gasps, what Oscar Wilde would think of all of this?
Up here, though, the mood is quiet, reflective, poignant.
Gatwa wears an Ami blazer.
Ronke Adékoluéjó wears a Eudon Choi dress. Bottega Veneta mules. Annoushka gold and pink sapphire ring. 886 by The Royal Mint gold rings. Pomellato bracelet. Tod’s tote. Ncuti Gatwa wears an Emporio Armani gilet and trousers. Kettlewell rollneck. Grenson loafers. Schiaparelli hammered brass and rhinestone ring. Bleue Burnham gold and pink sapphire ring. Hugh Skinner wears an Ami coat, cardigan, T-shirt, and trousers. Sharon D Clarke wears a Carven dress. Swarovski multi-hoop earring, necklace, and bracelets. Alighieri ring (on pinky finger). All other jewelry and shoes, Clarke’s own. Eliza Scanlen wears a Wolford rollneck. Dior Men shorts. By Far boots.Styling by Ola Ebiti.
Neil Barrett shorts and boots.
Skinner wears a Wales Bonner blazer and shorts.
Neil Barrett sweater and boots.
Gatwa wears an Ami blazer. Sunspel T-shirt. Neil Barrett shorts and boots. Jacquemus belt. Skinner wears a Wales Bonner blazer and shorts. Neil Barrett sweater and boots.
It wasnt to last.
Honestly, Gatwa sighs.
This funny little island were on.
Adékoluéjó wears a Victoria Beckham viscose midi dress. By Pariah silver earrings.
Funny in the best sense of the word, thoughas well as the unsettling one.
Adekoluejo wears a Victoria Beckham viscose midi dress.
By Pariah silver earrings.
Scanlen wears a Victoria Beckham embellished corset top and trousers. Falke socks. Church’s shoes.
Yet today, the atmosphere on set is far from oppressively genteel.
Looking for a third…), and with that, this sexually liberated tableaux is complete.
Scanlen wears a Victoria Beckham embellished corset top and trousers.
Loro Piana sweater. Chopova Lowena wool kilt. Otiumberg hoop earring. 886 by The Royal Mint gold signet ring.
My goodness, were going to have a lot of fun, Gatwa says with a cackle.
At 32, hes achieved the sort of national-treasure status normally afforded to nonagenarians.
(Its Ncuti whom King Charles III tapped to perform Shakespeare at Windsor Castle over the Coronation weekend.)
From left, Adékoluéjó wears an Alberta Ferretti dress. Carven earring. Gatwa wears a Fendi polo shirt. Ami trousers. Clarke wears a Giorgio Armani blazer. Feben dress. Ysso earring. Bleue Burnham ring (on thumb). Skinner wears a Giorgio Armani trouser suit. John Smedley rollneck.
In person, theres a touch of Wilde to his wittiness and panto to his personality.
No, no, he politely declines when offered a muffinAlgernons favoritefrom catering.
I was like:Everything has led to this moment).
Chopova Lowena wool kilt.
886 by The Royal Mint gold signet ring.
Oh, dont worry, Ill bring the trauma, Skinner, 39, mock-reassures me.
If Algernon has the most quotable, epigrammatic lines inEarnest, Jack is technically its protagonist, I note.
and Phoebe Waller-Bridges pre-Hot Priest partner inFleabag.
Earnestis, in a way, one of the most important plays about fashion, Webster posits.
Surfaces, in other words, are wildly important.
From left, Adekoluejo wears an Alberta Ferretti dress.
Gatwa wears a Fendi polo shirt.
Clarke wears a Giorgio Armani blazer.
Bleue Burnham ring (on thumb).
Skinner wears a Giorgio Armani trouser suit.
If Clarke claims to be clueless about fashion (JW Anderson?
Never heard that term before…), shes right at home on theVogueset.
This is the life, people, she hoots.
From Wildes time to when I was growing up under Section 28, she stresses, nothing had changed.
As far as I was concerned, it was in the white canon of theater.
Honestly, [Shakespeare and Wilde] wouldnt be hanging onto shit, Clarke adds.
Theyd be going, Whats fresh?
Wilde put it another way.
The Importance of Being Earnestwill be at Londons National Theatre from November 20 to January 25, 2025.
In this story: hair, Chi Wong; makeup, Crystabel Efemena Riley.
Nails: Simone Cummings.
Set design: Miguel Bento.
Production: The Curated.
Digital artwork: Imgn Studio.
With thanks to 14 Cavendish Square, W1
