Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Importance of Being Earnest (Dramatized)  By  cover art

The Importance of Being Earnest (Dramatized)

By: Oscar Wilde
Narrated by: James Marsters, Charles Busch, Emily Bergl, Neil Dickson, Jill Gascoine, Christopher Neame, Matthew Wolf
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.42

Buy for $5.42

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

This final play from the pen of Oscar Wilde is a stylish send-up of Victorian courtship and manners, complete with assumed names, mistaken lovers, and a lost handbag. Jack and Algernon are best friends, both wooing ladies who think their names are Ernest, "that name which inspires absolute confidence". Wilde's effervescent wit, scathing social satire, and high farce make this one of the most cherished plays in the English language.

Includes an interview with director Michael Hackett, professor of Theater in the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA.

An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring:
James Marsters as Jack
Charles Busch as Lady Bracknell
Emily Bergl as Cecily
Neil Dickson as Lane and Merriman
Jill Gascoine as Miss Prism
Christopher Neame as Chasuble
Matthew Wolf as Algernon
Sarah Zimmerman as Gwendolen

Directed by Michael Hackett. Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

©2009 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works

Featured Article: 65+ Quotes About Love from Much-Loved Authors


While saying "I love you" speaks volumes, there are times when you yearn to express your feelings for a loved one—whether a cherished friend, serious crush, or your soul mate—in a way that's more creative, more eloquent, more memorable...in a word: quotable. For those times, there's no better source to turn to than great authors. We've collected some of most tender, most romantic, and most passionate quotes from the world's most-loved authors.

What listeners say about The Importance of Being Earnest (Dramatized)

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,164
  • 4 Stars
    430
  • 3 Stars
    185
  • 2 Stars
    48
  • 1 Stars
    36
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,158
  • 4 Stars
    293
  • 3 Stars
    116
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    14
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,085
  • 4 Stars
    316
  • 3 Stars
    147
  • 2 Stars
    36
  • 1 Stars
    20

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hilarious!

As an introduction to Oscar Wilde, this was the best choice for me. Sophisticated, madcap humor and such delightful characters. What a treat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well read it and great play!

I think it was well read it and that it is a great play! I liked it very much. Wilde is always the best! looking forward to read more of him.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenally Hilarious!

Phenomenally Hilarious! Amazingly dramatized. I only wish I could have seen this in person.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

love!!!

This was my first Oscar Wilde play and it was fantastic. I liked it so much that I went and bought all his plays.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great fun

This is really well done.

First the play itself which still feels fresh after more than a hundred years. It’s truly a precursor of the wordplay in Wodehouse.

Then the performance which is excellent. I loved Lady Bracknell.

Finally the interview with the director at the end was a treat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thouroughly Enjoyable!

I had read this play many years ago, but never seen it performed. I admit, at the time, that I was not very impressed. This performance has changed my mind! This a truly funny play that had me laughing out loud at times, and Oscar Wilde has a wonderful sense for the absurd. The performance was very good, I can't resist James Marsters in a British accent (oh, and the others were good, too.)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable listen

I love this play. The cast of this version was commendable, but not great. Plenty talented enough however, to make this a fun listen. The voices of the ensemble were for the most part, sufficiently distinct to follow the dialogue, though Marsters who played Ernest/Jack and the actor who played Algernon were a bit similar. It helped to be familiar with the play. What I say is whenever one has the chance to listen to or watch this silly and wonderful piece of satire, one should take it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable - especially liked discussion afterward

This was fun to listen to, but what was great too was the discussion afterward with the Professor of Theater who discussed Oscar Wilde, his work, his life, and how this play fit with society and people's ideas in that era.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Masterfully Funny

Oscar Wilde's only play the Importance of Being Earnest is humorous in its double talk, a brief and yet impactful blend. The actors perform wonderfully and is a lighthearted masterpiece.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful, Hysterical and Entertaining!

Would you listen to The Importance of Being Earnest (Dramatized) again? Why?

I intend on listening to this again because the actors reading each part are absolutely perfect in their performance. The story is a clever, screwball comedy. The language is beautiful. This masterpiece is Oscar Wilde's final work.

What did you like best about this story?

The clever language, the fast moving story.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The tone of voice, the emphasis of certain words.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me giggle and smile!

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this for educators, as well as those who want to share their love of theatre to their friends and children.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!