A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde is "a new and original play of modern life", in four acts, first given on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Like Wilde's other society plays, it satirises English upper-class society. It has been revived from time to time since his death in 1900, but has been widely regarded as the least successful of his four drawing room plays. Background and first production Wilde's first West End drawing room play, Lady Windermere's Fan, ran at the St James's Theatre for 197 performances in 1892. He briefly moved away from the genre to write his biblical tragedy Salome, after which he accepted a request from the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree for a new play for Tree's company at the Haymarket Theatre. Wilde worked on it while staying in Norfolk in the summer, and later in a rented flat in St James's, impeded by constant interruptions by Lord Alfred Douglas. Tree accepted the finished play in October 1892. The leading female role, Mrs Arbuthnot, was intended for Madge Kendal, but for contractual reasons she withdrew and was replaced by Mrs Bernard Beere. The play was first performed on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London, to an audience that included Arthur Balfour and Joseph Chamberlain; the Prince of Wales attended the second night. The piece ran for 113 performances, closing on 16 August. Original cast Lord Illingworth – Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir John Pontefract – E. Holman Clark Lord Alfred Rufford – Ernest Lawford Mr Kelvil, MP – Charles Allan The Ven Dr Daubeny, DD (Rector of Wrockley) – Henry Kemble Gerald Arbuthnot – Fred Terry Farquhar (butler) – — Hay Francis (footman) J. Montagu Lady Hunstanton – Rose Leclercq Lady Caroline Pontefract – R. G. Le Thière Lady Strutfield – Blanche Horlock Mrs Allonby – Mrs H. B. Tree Hester Worsley – Julia Neilson Alice (maid) – — Kelly Mrs Arbuthnot – Mrs Bernard Beere Source: The London Stage. Plot The play is set in "the present" (i.e. 1893). Act I The Terrace at Hunstanton Chase thumb|Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Lord Illingworth, 1907 revival|alt=dandyish middle-aged white man, with dapper moustache in elegant summer suit The play opens with a party on a terrace in Lady Hunstanton's estate. The upper class guests spend the better part of Act I exchanging social gossip and small talk. Lady Caroline Pontefract patronises an American