We’re Just Wilde About Oscar
Oscar Wilde and his work were brilliant, subversive, and endlessly quotable and he remains one of literature’s most dazzling and complex figures. This week-long course explores, through practical application, highlights of Wilde’s extraordinary comedies that pulse with wit and whose dramas reveal the tensions of love, hypocrisy, and identity beneath the glittering surface of Victorian society.
By the end of the week, our explorations will reveal Wilde to be not only a comic genius, but also a dramatist who transformed the theatre into a mirror of desire, rebellion, and art.
During the week you will:
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Delve into and reflect on Wilde’s life and how he contributed to the rise of the modern comedy of manners
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Investigate Wilde’s stagecraft and wit through exploration of his play-texts
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Explore the wit and wisdom of The Importance of Being Earnest and how it translates into performance
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Discover, through practical work on the text the morality and hypocrisy in An Ideal Husband and A Woman of No Importance
This is a course for actors and directors who want to deepen their understanding, through practical exploration of a master of theatrical brilliance. No prior knowledge of Wilde’s work is required — only a love of sharp dialogue and keen observation.
Eva Sampson trained on the National Theatre Studio Directors’ Course and at the University of Birmingham. She is the Co-Artistic Director of How It Ended theatre company and is an Associate of National Youth Theatre. Eva was the Sky Arts Artistic Associate for Theatre Royal Stratford East during 2022 – 2023.
Her credits as a Director includes: Whipped Up (Watford Palace Theatre / UK Tour), The Fir Tree (Artsdepot / How It Ended); Jane Eyre (GSA); Couple Goals (Young Vic / RWCMD); Velvet Pines (Tanner Street / Swamp), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Sherman Theatre, Cardiff); Cinderella (Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Ultimate Pickle (Roundabout / Paines Plough); Wild (Unicorn Theatre / How It Ended); More Than We Can Bear (Almeida Theatre / Clean Break); Heart of Hammersmith (Lyric Hammersmith); Maryland, Meet Mo, Ribena, Jack and the Beanstalk (Theatre Royal Stratford East); At the Statue of Venus (Royal Opera House); The Little Gardener (Kew Gardens); Last Nine Months (Vaults); Sticky (Southwark Playhouse); The Tide (Young Vic); The Scarecrows’ Wedding (Watford Palace Theatre); A Peter Rabbit Tale (Singapore Repertory); Rudolf (Leeds Playhouse); Decades (Brixton House).
As Associate / Assistant Director: The Nutcracker (St Martin’s Theatre), Ride the Cyclone (Southwark Playhouse), Alice in Wonderland (Marylebone Theatre), The Koala Who Could (Unicorn Theatre / UK Tour), Wolf Witch Giant Fairy (Royal Opera House); Four Quartets (West End); Noye’s Fludde (Theatre Royal Stratford East / ENO); Twelfth Night (Young Vic); Father Christmas (Lyric Hammersmith); Unprecedented (Headlong / Century Films / BBC Four).
As Resident Assistant Director: This is My Family, 8 Hotels (Chichester Festival Theatre).
As Staff Director at The National Theatre: The Visit, Downstate (co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre).
For Film/TV/Radio: Trigger Point 2: The Experience (ITV / ITVX / Swamp), Four Quartets (Ralph Fiennes / Lone Star Productions Ltd / BBC); Keep the Home Fires Burning (The Culture Trust Luton); That’s How It Feels: REED TVC Campaign (MYNT / Kingdom Creative).