The Importance of Being Earnest (Classic Radio Theater Series)

Richard Pasco and Jeremy Clyde star in this Full-Cast production of Oscar Wilde's well-known comedy, ''The Importance of Being Earnest,'' a dazzling comedy about mistaken identities and secret engagements which still delights audiences over a century after its first performance in 1895.

Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend Jack Worthing has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanors. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and it takes the discovery of an old black handbag to reveal the truth.

This BBC Radio production, first broadcast in 1977, features Jeremy Clyde as Algernon, Richard Pasco as Worthing, Prunella Scales as Cecily, and Maurice Denham as the Rev. Canon Chasuble, and it is the first broadcast of the original four-act version of the play.