Alastair Whatley plays Oscar Wilde at Park Theatre in a celebrated one-man show

Alastair Whatley brings Oscar Wilde back to life at Park Theatre this summer

A celebrated one-man show about the man who lived and loved without compromise, at the cost of everything he had.

Micheál Mac Liammóir wrote The Importance of Being Oscar in 1960 when Wilde had been dead for six decades and his name was still spoken with discomfort in many circles. Mac Liammóir, himself openly gay at a time when that carried real professional and personal risk, went back to Wilde's own words and built a show that treated the man as the artist and the life as the work of art. The play has been performed internationally for over sixty years. This is its first London revival in over twenty-five years.

Alastair Whatley takes on the role at Park Theatre this summer. Whatley is the Artistic Director of Original Theatre, the Olivier-nominated company he founded, which has toured continuously since 2005 and taken productions from Suffolk village halls to Broadway. His acting credits include Henry V for the RSC, Birdsong, Vincent in Brixton and Dancing at Lughnasa. He performed The Importance of Being Oscar on UK and Irish tour in 2010 and 2011, had not performed on stage since his 2017 New York run of Torben Betts' Invincible, and returned to the role for a further UK tour in 2024 and 2025 that received five-star responses.

The show moves from Wilde's glittering rise through the heights of his fame to the trial, Reading Gaol, the exile in Paris and the death at forty-six. Wilde's wit, defiance and devastation run through it in equal measure.

Michael Fentiman directs. His credits include Amélie the Musical, which received three Olivier Award nominations including Best New Musical, Titus Andronicus for the RSC, Joe Orton's Loot and Jekyll and Hyde at Reading Rep. He directed Whatley in the 2024 production and returns to the material for the Park Theatre run.

Set and costume design is by Madeleine Girling, lighting by Chris Davey and sound by Barnaby Race. Produced by Original Theatre in association with Reading Rep Theatre and Park Theatre.

Running time is 110 minutes including an interval. A captioned performance takes place on 14 August. Under-30 tickets are available at £10 on pink and yellow seats. Pay what you can tickets are available for Thursday matinees and Wednesday evenings.

Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, N4 3JP. 22 July to 22 August 2026. Press night 27 July.

Evening performances at 7:30pm
Thursday and Saturday matinees at 3pm

Tickets from £15 at parktheatre.co.uk.

‍