Plays / The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest: who’s in each scene

Oscar Wilde · 1895

Plan this showLoads this breakdown into the free planner. Add your cast and their conflicts; get a schedule and call notices.

Scenes

Speaking roles

Groups / ensemble

Scene × character grid

● speaks · ○ on stage, no lines. Weight compares each scene’s length to the play’s typical scene.

Scene	Weight	Algernon Moncrieff	Lane	John Worthing, J.P.	Lady Bracknell	Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax	Cecily Cardew	Miss Prism	Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.	Merriman	Footman
Act 1 (i)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	light	●	●
Act 1 (ii)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	heavy	●	●	●
Act 1 (iii)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	normal	●	●	●	●	●
Act 1 (iv)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	normal			●		●
Act 1 (v)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	light			○	●	●
Act 1 (vi)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	fuller			●	●
Act 1 (vii)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	fuller	●	●	●
Act 1 (viii)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	light	●	●	●		●
Act 1 (ix)Morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street	light	●	●	●
Act 2 (i)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	normal						●	●
Act 2 (ii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light						●	●	●
Act 2 (iii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	fuller	●					●			●
Act 2 (iv)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light							●	●
Act 2 (v)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	normal			●				●	●
Act 2 (vi)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light			●			●	●	●
Act 2 (vii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light	●		●			●	●	●
Act 2 (viii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light	●		●						●
Act 2 (ix)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	heavy	●					●			●
Act 2 (x)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	fuller					●	●			○
Act 2 (xi)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	light					●	●			●	○
Act 2 (xii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	normal	●		●		●	●
Act 2 (xiii)Garden at the Manor House, Woolton	fuller	●		●
Act 3 (i)Morning-room at the Manor House, Woolton	normal	●		●		●	●			●
Act 3 (ii)Morning-room at the Manor House, Woolton	heavy	●		●	●	●	●
Act 3 (iii)Morning-room at the Manor House, Woolton	light	○		●	●	○	○		●
Act 3 (iv)Morning-room at the Manor House, Woolton	normal	○		●	●	●	●	●	●
Act 3 (v)Morning-room at the Manor House, Woolton	fuller	●		●	●	●	●	●	●

Cast size and doubling

9 speaking roles.

Lane and Merriman never share a scene and are commonly doubled.
Lane appears only in Act 1 and never shares a scene with Cecily, Miss Prism or Chasuble.
Merriman never shares a scene with Miss Prism or Chasuble.

Heaviest scenes

Work these early and often:

Act 1 (ii) — 3 speaking, about 222 lines
Act 3 (ii) — 5 speaking, about 194 lines
Act 2 (ix) — 3 speaking, about 146 lines

Characters

Algernon Moncrieff — Lady Bracknell's nephew
Lane — Algernon's manservant
John Worthing, J.P. — Known as Ernest in town
Lady Bracknell — Gwendolen's mother, Algernon's aunt
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax — Lady Bracknell's daughter
Cecily Cardew — Jack's ward
Miss Prism — Cecily's governess
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. — Rector at Woolton
Merriman — Butler at the Manor House
Footman — Non-speaking servant at the Manor House

Edition: Project Gutenberg eBook #844: the three-act text as first produced at the St James's Theatre, 14 February 1895 (cast list included), transcribed by David Price; no print source edition is named. Breakdown derived from this text. Public domain in the United States. Breakdown only — no text of the play is reproduced here.