The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) National Theatre Live returns this August with screenings of The Importance of Being Earnest and Hamlet, inviting audiences to reflect on identity, performance, and truth.
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest will be screened on August 26, 2025, at 6 p.m. at Glorietta 4 Cinema 1. Directed by Max Webster, the play is a vibrant satire on Victorian social hypocrisy. Jack (Hugh Skinner) and Algernon (Ncuti Gatwa) escape their responsibilities through “the art of Bunburying”—creating false identities to pursue love. Both adopt the name “Ernest,” highlighting society’s obsession with names and status. As the characters chase their desires, the play poses the question: can a performative life still lead to personal truth?
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Originally premiered in 1895 and performed recently at the Lyttelton Theatre from November 21 to January 25, 2025, this latest adaptation brings Wilde’s wit and critique to modern audiences. “Whether the performative man succeeds in achieving his desires or succumbs to what is expected of him is for the screen to tell, but the art of performance already realizes the importance of one’s truth.”
On the same day and time, Shakespeare’s Hamlet will be shown at Ayala Malls Vertis North and Ayala Malls Central Bloc Cebu. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Lyndsey Turner and Robin Lough, this production explores illusion and reality. Hamlet pretends to be mad to expose deceit and seeks revenge. Through his soliloquies, he reflects deeply on how “the fallacies man performs eventually become his truths.”
Both productions are part of CCP’s effort to bring world-class theater from London to Filipino audiences. National Theatre Live films high-definition recordings of live performances, making them accessible worldwide.
These plays show that fiction often mirrors reality, emphasizing the idea that the roles we play shape who we are.
Tickets are Php300 in Makati and Cebu, and Php350 in Vertis North. Students with valid ID can watch for Php150. For tickets, visit www.sureseats.com.
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 National Theatre Live returns this August with screenings of The Importance of Being Earnest and Hamlet.){kind=link}