Review by Markus Hamence – The Importance of Being Earnest. Performance date: Tuesday 12 May 2026. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, South Australia.
There’s something deliciously unhinged and flamboyant about State Theatre Company South Australia’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde’s world of double lives, social climbing and romantic nonsense arrives at the Dunstan Playhouse dressed in glamour, chaos and sharp contemporary bite, directed with swagger and precision by Petra Kalive. This is not a polite drawing-room comedy delicately preserved behind glass. It is a full-bodied theatrical cocktail that fizzes with vanity, desire and the absolute absurdity of pretending to be someone else just to survive high society.
Kalive’s direction gives the production a thrilling sense of movement and danger. Every scene feels like it could collapse under the weight of its own lies at any second, yet somehow the madness remains perfectly choreographed. Wilde’s language still sparkles like expensive champagne, but this production understands the darkness hiding beneath the wit. These characters are performing versions of themselves constantly, chasing love, status and approval while desperately avoiding honesty. Suddenly, a play written in 1895 feels startlingly close to the curated performances of modern life.
“Every line hits like a perfectly sharpened dagger wrapped in velvet…”
Markus Hamence
The cast attack the material with irresistible energy. OG ‘Prisoner’ legend, Glenda Linscott is magnetic, commanding the stage with icy brilliance and comic timing so precise it almost feels dangerous. Adelaide darling and Cabaret and Punk/Rock Queen Carla Lippis injects the production with theatrical electricity, creating moments that feel delightfully unpredictable. Nathan O’Keefe and Caroline Mignone bounce off each other beautifully, capturing both the romance and ridiculousness of Wilde’s lovers with warmth and playful charm. Teddy Dunn, Pia Gillings, Anna Lindner and Connor Pullinger complete an ensemble that moves as one glorious wave of social chaos, delivering the rapid-fire dialogue with confidence and rhythm.
Visually, the production embraces heightened theatricality over dusty realism. Kathryn Sproul’s set and costume design creates a world dripping in elegance while quietly mocking the very idea of sophistication. The aesthetic feels lavish, exaggerated and knowingly artificial, which perfectly suits Wilde’s satire of appearances. Katie Sfetkidis’ lighting keeps the show pulsing forward with a cinematic energy, helping the production feel alive and unpredictable from beginning to end.
“Petra Kalive turns Wilde’s classic into a glittering social demolition…”
Markus Hamence
What makes this production truely sing is its refusal to apologise for its colour and boldness. It embraces queerness, theatricality and satire with confidence, allowing Wilde’s words to feel rebellious once again rather than academically admired. The famous handbag revelation still detonates with comic brilliance, but there’s also genuine emotional weight underneath the laughter. Beneath all the aliases and absurdity is a very human longing to be loved without performance.
The Importance of Being Earnest becomes less about manners and more about identity itself – who we invent, who we hide and who we become when nobody is watching.
“A champagne-fuelled spiral into vanity, romance and glorious deception…”
Markus Hamence
Wrap Up:
State Theatre Company South Australia has taken a literary classic and shaken the dust off it completely, delivering a production that feels sexy, sharp, chaotic and unapologetically alive. Bravo.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Director:
Petra Kalive
Cast:
Teddy Dunn (Jack)
Pia Gillings (Cecily)
Anna Lindner (Algernon)
Glenda Linscott (Lady Bracknell)
Carla Lippis (Lane/Merriman – servant)
Connor Pullinger (Gwendolyn)
Caroline Mignone (Rev Chasuble)
Nathan O’Keefe (Miss Prism)
8 May – 30 May 2026
Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre
Tickets
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Photography Credit: Matt Byrne
