HOLD on to your handbags and hone your Wildean wit as a new interactive production inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic play is coming to Devon next month.

…Earnest?, is a one-of-a-kind, different-every-night comedy sensation, perfect for fans of The Play That Goes Wrong and Noises Off , and is being presented at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre by the Say It Again, Sorry? theatre company.

When a traditional production of Oscar Wilde’s classic play gets underway, everything seems to be going perfectly to plan… that is, until the lead actor fails to arrive on cue and an actual audience member is chosen to star in the show.

What follows is a madcap medley of impromptu games and spontaneous solutions as Simon Slough, the desperate director, does his best to keep this faithful production going with an unwitting amateur at the helm.

But with stage whiskey being swapped, off-the-cuff auditions being held, and muffins being eaten (no matter what state they’re in), there’s just no telling what this version of Earnest is going to throw up.

Especially when more audience members are drafted in to replace an ever-thinning cast… With the script ripped up and rewritten, can the show reach its fabulous finale, just as Oscar Wilde intended?

Well, you’ll have to see for yourself, because with a cast made up of members of the public, this show is completely different, completely chaotic, and completely Wilde every single night.

And who knows, you might even become a star yourself in this totally unique comedy, guaranteed to have you laughing whether you’re sitting in the audience… or performing onstage.

The company can trace its beginnings back to 2018 when artistic director Simon Paris set up The Lab Workshops developing his own craft and supporting actors with their acting technique.

He met with Oskar Mcarthy, Nozstock festival’s arts and culture programmer, who commissioned Simon to direct a game-based, walkabout show for Nozstock that year. Simon invites actors Rhys Tees, Guido Garcia Lueches and Louise Goodfield to devise a show, resulting in the creation interactive art show Easel Peasel.

Twelve months down the line and actor and improv queen Trynity Silk plus writer Josh King join the team -at which point .The Importance of Being… Earnest? emerges. The show is a new concept of casting the audience in the play from start to finish.

The team heads to Special Guest putting their company name into the hands of the audience and ‘Say It Again, Sorry?’ is chosen by the audience as the name of the company.

Ticket for the shows on February 25 and 26 can be booked at https://exeternorthcott.co.uk.