Ncuti Gatwa's acclaimed theatre run of beloved classic play is set to stream for free
Alongside Gatwa, the play stars Sharon D Clarke, Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, Eliza Scanlen and Hugh Skinner.
The National Theatre has announced it will stream Max Webster’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ncuti Gatwa for free.
The filmed performance, which was captured during its run at the National Theatre in winter 2024/25, will be available worldwide on YouTube from 12 March 2026 as part of the Take Your Seats initiative.
There will also be a digital watch-along premiere at 7pm GMT, during which viewers will have the opportunity to interact through a chat function and engage in polls.
The free stream will be available for free until 18 March, and will be released to National Theatre at Home subscribers on 19 March.
Alongside Ncuti, who plays bachelor Algernon Moncrieff, the reimagining of the Oscar Wilde play stars Sharon D Clarke (Doctor Who), Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ (Blues for an Alabama Sky), Eliza Scanlen (Little Women) and Hugh Skinner (Fleabag).
Following its run at the National Theatre, The Importance of Being Earnest was released in cinemas internationally through the National Theatre Live, with the production reaching over 175,000 people.
The play later transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran from 18 September 2025 until 10 January 2026. The cast featured the likes of Olly Alexander, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Hugh Dennis, Shobna Gulati, Kitty Hawthorne, Jessica Whitehurst, Hayley Carmichael and Stephen Fry.
Take Your Seats first launched in 2023, with previous free streams including Othello and Nye.
The Importance of Being Earnest was one of Gatwa's first major roles following his departure from Doctor Who at the end of season 15.
The actor's other post-Doctor Who roles include comedy film The Roses, in which he starred alongside Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as the part of Christopher Marlowe in Liz Duffy Adam's Born With Teeth, a play about the rivalry between Marlowe and William Shakespeare, which ran at London's Wyndham theatre last year.
Meanwhile, upcoming projects include the series First Day On Earth for HBO and BBC, and The Queen of Fashion, a biopic about the iconic British fashion editor Isabella Blow.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
