The recent Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo) production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest has been named SUTCo’s bestselling show since 2017.
Having played the Library Theatre for three nights this week, the group saw a variety of positive comments from audiences and reviewers alike, which was translated into the highest ticket sales for seven years, with 356 across their performances.
In a celebratory post following the completion of their run, the student theatre company gave a “huge congratulations to the entire cast, crew and production team of [their] Week 8 show ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’”.
Directed by Amaara Qureshi and assisted by Abby Broido and Emilia Lodge, all first-time directors, the cast and crew consisted of new and returning talent, as well as marking a variety of debut performances, and technical debuts within the company.
The 8-strong cast, comprising of Luke Hookham as Jack Worthing, Toma Hoffman as Algernon Moncrieff, Chantelle Winder as Gwendolen Fairfax, Eden Houlberg as Cecily Cardew, Jessica Ansbro as Lady Bracknell, Louis J as Reverend Canon Chasuble, SUTCo Chair Caitlin Wood as Miss Prism and Alex Mackie as Lane/Merriman, each received widespread praise for their performances.
Last Night I Dreamt Of… called Hookham’s performance as having “a young Hugh Grant style charm and natural appeal”, and telling readers “this production should not be missed”.
Forge Press similarly praised “Eden Houlberg’s Cecily and Chantelle Winder’s Gwendolen […] for their deftly exaggerated mannerisms”, calling their performances “perfectly portrayed”.
The story, written by famed author Oscar Wilde, follows two young men who craft a similar secret identity for themselves – Ernest – to escape their woes. But when they across Gwendolen and Cecily, their stories collide and derail in spectacular fashion, with nothing but chaos set to follow.
The three performances at Sheffield’s Library Theatre, beneath the Central Library and neighbouring the Lyceum, saw SUTCo bring this comedy classic to the Steel City with phenomenal success.
The significant ticket sales, performances and success of this production has cemented its place within the SUTCo history books as one of the great successes the theatre company has enjoyed, and eclipsing many that have come before.
Whilst the run of The Importance of Being Earnest may have concluded, this is surely not the last we will see from this production team, cast or crew, with exciting futures awaiting all of their talented company members.
SUTCo’s The Importance of Being Earnest played from November 20th to 22nd at the Library Theatre
