How Important It Is to Have... an Oscar

Divadlo MA presents Oscar Wilde's celebrated comedy as the story of a solitary, refined man with a brilliant sense of humor - a man punished by society for wanting to be himself, who paid with his life for the right to openly acknowledge his sexual orientation.

Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest at a time when Europe was undergoing a fundamental shift in how sexuality was understood. Emerging sexology began to describe homosexual orientation as natural and innate, while the legal apparatus simultaneously criminalized it harshly. In this paradoxical environment, a space emerged for coded language, double meanings, and hidden references - and Wilde masterfully used it in his work to reflect on the desire for freedom, individuality, and the right to one's own identity, thereby fundamentally anticipating his century.