Short answers, pulled from the story.
Oscar Wilde wrote the play during the summer of 1894 while staying with his family at Worthing on the Sussex coast. He revised the text throughout that period and shortened it from four acts to three after working with George Alexander.
The play premiered at the St James's Theatre in London on the 14th of February 1895. It closed on the 8th of May 1905 after only 83 performances following Wilde's arrest.
The play has been adapted for cinema three times by Anthony Asquith in 1952, Kurt Baker in 1992, and Oliver Parker in 2002. A 2008 Telugu language film titled Ashta Chamma also adapts the story.
Translating the title poses special problems because Ernest functions as both a masculine proper name and means steadfast or serious. Translators must choose between staying faithful to the original pun or creating similar wordplay in their own language.
John Gielgud produced and starred in the 1939 production at the Globe Theatre where Edith Evans played Lady Bracknell and Margaret Rutherford played Miss Prism. This production toured North America and was staged on Broadway in 1947.