Auditions: Sunday, 31st May 2026 - 10am to 2pm (by appointment)
Audition location: Mt Riverview Girl Guide Hall, Bunbinla Avenue, Mt Riverview

Written by Oscar Wilde | Directed by Anthony Brown

SYNOPSIS
Beautiful, aristocratic, an adored wife and young mother, Lady Windermere is a 'fascinating puritan’ who’s severe moral code leads her to the brink of social suicide. The only one who can save her is the mysterious Mrs. Erlynne, whose scandalous relationship with Lord Windermere has prompted her fatal impulse. And Mrs. Erlynne has a secret – a secret Lady Windermere must never know if she is to retain her piece of mind.

A period piece and Oscar Wilde’s first play written in 1892. Set in London.
 
PERFORMANCE DATES
Saturday, 17th October 2026 at 2pm & 7pm
Sunday, 18th October 2026 at 2pm & 7pm
Saturday, 24th October 2026 at 2pm & 7pm
Sunday, 25th October 2026 at 2pm & 7pm

PERFORMANCE LOCATION
Melrose Hall
169 Great Western Highway, Emu Plains
 
AUDITION & REHEARSAL INFORMATION
Email Anthony at rubyproductions99@gmail.com to obtain the rehearsal schedule and book an audition.

Rehearsals will be held at Mt Riverview Girl Guides Hall, Bunbinla Avenue, Mount Riverview. Please consider your ability to travel to this location before auditioning.
 
CHARACTERS
Lady Margaret Windermere: A young, naive, and fiercely moralistic woman who believes people are strictly "good" or "bad." Her trust is shattered, causing her to reconsider her rigid standards.
Lady Windermere is the play’s protagonist. She is 21 years old and has been married for two years to Lord Windermere, with whom she has a six-month-old son. Lady Windermere adores her husband and reveres the memory of her mother, whom she believes died when Lady Windermere was a baby. She is unaware that Mrs. Erlynne is actually her mother, though Lord Windermere does know. Lady Windermere is well-respected in London society and has a reputation for only associating with respectable people, though it seems that she has few—if any—genuine friends. Over the course of the play, she comes to believe that her husband is cheating on her with Mrs. Erlynne and almost runs away with Lord Darlington, only to be saved by Mrs. Erlynne just before making this potentially disastrous decision. At the start of the play, she has very rigid views on morality and believes that all people are either good or bad, but as the play unfolds, she grows more and more uncertain of how good and evil play out in the real world. In particular, her experiences with Mrs. Erlynne show her that the same person can be both wicked and good. Lady Windermere’s confusion and dawning understanding of morality’s ambiguity serves as the primary illustration of one of the story’s key themes. Additionally, her beautiful fan and the different ways it is used throughout the text provide a symbolic lens through which to view the play’s themes of femininity and
performed gender.

Mrs. Erlynne: The play's complex protagonist, formerly known as a social outcast who abandoned her family 20 years ago. She is intelligent, manipulative, and ultimately sacrificial, protecting her daughter’s reputation.
Mrs. Erlynne is a mysterious woman who is new to London society. Though the play implies that she’s probably in her late thirties, she looks much younger and is admired by all the men in London society, even though she lacks respectable family relations and there are all kinds of scandalous rumors about her past. She gains social acceptance when she attends Lady Windermere’s party and charms the guests, and she eventually becomes engaged to Augustus. Toward the end of the play, the audience learns that she is actually Lady Windermere’s mother, and that she abandoned her child to pursue a lover, who eventually abandoned Mrs. Erlynne herself. When she found out that her daughter had married the wealthy Lord Windermere, she began demanding money from him since she knew that he wouldn’t want to hurt Lady Windermere by revealing Mrs. Erlynne’s true identity. In the end, she succeeds in using this connection to Lord Windermere to regain entrance into polite society. Mrs. Erlynne is the play’s starkest example of moral ambiguity, since she acts selflessly at times while also refusing to apologize for her past mistakes and opportunistic behavior. She keeps Lady Windermere’s fan at the end of the play, which shows symbolically how she ultimately masters using femininity and gender roles to create the reality she wants.

The Duchess of Berwick: A quintessential witty gossip who provides comic relief and acts as the catalyst for the conflict by telling Lady Windermere about the supposed affair.
The Duchess of Berwick is a respectable older woman and friend of Lady Windermere’s. She is Agatha’s mother and Augustus’s sister. In the first two acts, the Duchess serves as a comedic representation of the expectations of polite society, especially as it concerns women’s roles. She is preoccupied with presenting herself and her daughter in a positive light, and she seems to use Lady Windermere more as a means to social gain than as an actual friend. The Duchess loves to gossip and tells Lady Windermere about the rumors surrounding Lord Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne, thus setting into motion the central misunderstanding that drives the plot. The Duchess also succeeds in getting Agatha engaged to Mr. Hopper at the party.

Lady Agatha Carlisle: Agatha is the Duchess of Berwick’s daughter. She is a quiet young woman who only says “Yes, Mamma,” though her mother considers her a “chatterbox” and is always saying what a clever speaker Agatha is.
Agatha behaves as a model of ladylike politeness and submission throughout the first two acts. She gets engaged to Mr. Hopper at the end of the party, much to her mother’s delight, and agrees to move to Australia with him.

Lord Augustus Lorton: A suitor to Mrs. Erlynne who represents the shallow nature of high society, eventually becoming interested in Mrs. Erlynne.
Augustus (nicknamed Tuppy) is an older gentleman and the brother of the Duchess of Berwick. It’s implied that he’s likeable but buffoonish; he’s been married and divorced multiple times and quickly falls in love with Mrs. Erlynne, despite the fact that she’s clearly manipulating him in order to gain social status by marrying him. Though he is initially preoccupied with Mrs. Erlynne’s lack of family relations, he is reassured by Lady Windermere’s acceptance of her, and he proposes to Mrs. Erlynne at the party. The other men tease Augustus for his naivety, but he eagerly pursues Mrs. Erlynne regardless. Augustus is dismayed to discover Mrs. Erlynne hiding in Lord Darlington’s rooms, but he readily accepts her explanation, and Augusts and Mrs. Erlynne get engaged at the play’s conclusion.

Mr. Dumby: Dumby is another young gentleman who attends the party. He’s first introduced as an example of how empty and performative language can be in social settings. He makes a number of contradictory statements in conversations with different guests, and seems perfectly comfortable doing so. It’s also implied that Dumby is Lady Plymdale’s lover and possibly Mrs. Erlynne’s as well; he initially tells Lady Plymdale that he doesn’t know who Mrs. Erlynne is, only to have Mrs. Erlynne reveal that he visits her often. In the third act, Dumby is a comedic foil to Cecil Graham and Augustus, behaving in a carefree, cheerfully naïve way that the other men sometimes mock.

Lady Stutfield: A small role for a beginner.

Mr. Cecil Graham: Cecil Graham is a young gentleman who attends the party and seems to be a friend of Lord Windermere and the other men. Cecil is also the nephew of Lady Jedburgh, to whom he introduces Mrs. Erlynne at the party. He is portrayed as a lighthearted troublemaker; he frequently teases Augustus and unhesitatingly calls Lord Darlington out for hiding a woman in his rooms. Cecil also seems to be somewhat cynical; he makes light of the distinction between good and evil and implies that it doesn’t much matter which side a person ends up on.

Lady Jedburgh: Cecil Graham’s aunt. She is an admired older woman whom Mrs. Erlynne easily charms at the party.
   
Lady Plymdale: Lady Plymdale is a guest at the party. Though she’s married, it’s implied that Dumby is her lover. When she finds out that Dumby knows Mrs. Erlynne, she’s initially angry but then decides that the connection could be useful; she plans to send her husband to meet Mrs. Erlynne as well so that he’ll stop smothering her with attention. Lady Plymdale gossips about Mrs. Erlynne at the start of the party but seems to admire her by the end.

Mr. Hopper: A young Australian man who is highly sought after in London society. Just as the Duchess of Berwick hopes, he pursues Agatha and gets engaged to her at the end of the party.

Mrs. Cowper-Cowper: A small role for a beginner.

Parker, the butler: Lord Windermere and Lady Windermere’s butler.

Rosalie, the maid: Lady Windermere’s maid.