Ncuti Gatwa to make National Theatre debut in The Importance Of Being Earnest

The Doctor Who and Sex Education star, 31, will play the idle gentleman Algernon Moncrieff alongside W1A actor Hugh Skinner, who will portray the protagonist Jack Worthing.

Reimagined by director Max Webster, whose production of Life Of Pi won five Olivier Awards and three Tonys, the play will run in the Lyttelton Theatre from November 20 to January 25 2025.

The play, first performed in 1895, follows Jack, who assumes the role of a dutiful guardian in the country but lets loose in the town under the false identity of a man named Ernest.

His close friend Algernon has also created a similar facade as he pretends he has an ill friend named Bunbury in the country who he visits when he wants to avoid social obligations.

Their double lives have their drawbacks, especially when it comes to love.

As the gentlemen hope to impress two eligible ladies, they find themselves caught in a web of lies from which they must carefully navigate.

The cast also sees Mary Queen Of Scots actor Richard Cant play Reverend Canon Chasuble, Doctor Who actress Sharon D Clarke as Lady Bracknell and Star Wars’ Amanda Lawrence as Miss Prism.

Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, said: “It is a joy to be welcoming Max Webster in his National Theatre directorial debut with a new production of Oscar Wilde’s hilariously subversive comedy The Importance of Being Earnest.

“Max has assembled an extraordinary cast to reimagine one of our greatest comedies, with Ncuti Gatwa making his National Theatre debut.

“We are also delighted to welcome back Richard Cant, Amanda Lawrence, Hugh Skinner and Sharon D Clarke, who is returning to play one of Wilde’s most iconic roles – Lady Bracknell.”

The set and costume design will be led by Rae Smith, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Nicola T Chang, composition by DJ Walde, movement direction by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille and casting by Alastair Coomer CDG.

The Importance of Being Earnest will join the previously announced Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre for the festive season.

Gatwa first rose to fame in Netflix hit Sex Education as Eric Effiong, the best friend to Asa Butterfield’s lead character Otis Milburn.

The actor made his first appearance as the 15th incarnation of the Time Lord in the sci-fi series Doctor Who last year.

The long-running BBC series will return to screens in May starring Gatwa as the Doctor and former Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson as his new companion Ruby Sunday.

Gatwa has previously had a number of stage roles including starring in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe.

The play will run in the Lyttelton theatre from November 20 2024 to January 25 2025.