When I was asked to write a murder mystery evening for my local drama group, I decided to base the plot around an amateur production of a play that goes wrong.
But which play? I chose The Importance of Being Earnest, then about to be revived at the National Theatre, and since transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre with Stephen Fry in the role of Lady Bracknell. A fun title for my own play came to mind: The Importance of Being Murdered. I welcomed this opportunity to pay tribute to one of my writing heroes, Oscar Wilde.
A Dubliner, Wilde (1854-1900) was a leading Victorian playwright, author, and journalist. He wrote a string of successful plays including An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and A Woman of No Importance. His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray created a lasting cultural icon of the ageing portrait in the attic.
Wilde was famous for memorable one-liners and throwaway lines in life as well as in his writing. His timeless epigrams have been enjoyed ever since. Do you remember the Monty Python sketch inspired by his pronouncement: “There is only one thing in the world being talked about, and that is not being talked about”?
Tragically, the latter part Wilde’s short life was overshadowed by his conviction for “gross indecency”, because in Victorian England, homosexuality was illegal. Sadly, he was pardoned only posthumously.
I prefer to think of him in his prime, and I’m glad his work is still so popular today. In January there was an art exhibition named after his comic short story “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime”, and this summer, Garsington Festival will debut a new opera of The Importance of Being Earnest.
You don’t need to be familiar with Wilde’s work to enjoy The Importance of Being Murdered – but if you are, you’ll spot a few Wildean Easter eggs in there. I like to think they’d make Oscar smile.
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