 Wilde hesitated about submitting the script to Alexander , worrying that it might be unsuitable for the St James 's Theatre , whose typical repertoire was relatively serious , and explaining that it had been written in response to a request for a play " with no real serious interest " . When Henry James 's Guy Domville failed , Alexander turned to Wilde and agreed to put on his play . Alexander began his usual meticulous preparations , interrogating the author on each line and planning stage movements with a toy theatre . In the course of these rehearsals Alexander asked Wilde to shorten the play from four acts to three . Wilde agreed and combined elements of the second and third acts . The largest cut was the removal of the character of Mr. Gribsby , a solicitor who comes from London to arrest the profligate " Ernest " ( i.e. , Jack ) for his unpaid dining bills . Algernon , who is posing as " Ernest " , will be led away to Holloway Jail unless he settles his accounts immediately . Jack finally agrees to pay for Ernest , everyone thinking that it is Algernon 's bill when in fact it is his own . The four @-@ act version was first played on the radio in a BBC production and is still sometimes performed . Peter Raby argues that the three @-@ act structure is more effective , and that the shorter original text is more theatrically resonant than the expanded published edition . 
 Wilde hesitated about submitting the script to Alexander , worrying that it might be unsuitable for the St James <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>Theatre , whose typical repertoire was relatively serious , and explaining that it <a href='been_done' title='2'><mark>had</mark></a> been written in response to a request for a play " with no real serious interest " . When Henry James <a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>'s</mark></a>Guy Domville failed , Alexander turned to Wilde and agreed to put on his play . Alexander began his usual meticulous preparations , interrogating the author on each line and planning stage movements with a toy theatre . In the course of these rehearsals Alexander asked Wilde to shorten the play from four acts to three . Wilde agreed and combined elements of the second and third acts . The largest cut was the removal of the character of Mr. Gribsby , a solicitor <a href='null_relcl' title='4'><mark>who</mark></a><a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>comes</mark></a> from London to arrest the profligate " Ernest " ( i.e. , Jack ) for his unpaid dining bills . Algernon , <a href='null_relcl' title='6'><mark>who</mark></a>is posing as " Ernest " , will be led away to Holloway Jail unless he <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>settles</mark></a> his accounts immediately . Jack finally <a href='uninflect' title='8'><mark>agrees</mark></a> to pay for Ernest , everyone thinking that it is Algernon <a href='null_genetive' title='9'><mark>'s</mark></a>bill when in fact it <a href='drop_aux' title='10'><mark>is</mark></a>his own . The four @-@ act version was first played on the radio in a BBC production and is still sometimes performed . Peter Raby <a href='uninflect' title='11'><mark>argues</mark></a> that the three @-@ act structure is more effective , and that the shorter original text <a href='drop_aux' title='12'><mark>is</mark></a>more theatrically resonant than the expanded published edition . 
Wilde hesitated about submitting the script to Alexander , worrying that it mite be unsuitable for da St James  Theatre , whose typical repertoire was relatively serious , and explaining that it done been written in response to a request for a play " with no real serious interest " . When Henry James  Guy Domville failed , Alexander turned to Wilde and agreed to put on his play . Alexander began his usual meticulous preparations , interrogating tdaauthor on each line and plannin stage movements with a toy theatre . In thdaourse of these rehearsals Alexander asked Wilde to shorten the play from four acts to three . Wilde agreed and combined elements of the second and third acts . The largest cut was thedamoval of the character of Mr. Gribsby , a solicitor come from London to arrest the profligate " Ernest " ( i.e. , Jack ) for his unpaid dining bills . Algernon , is posing as " Ernest " , will be led away to Holloway Jail unless he settle his accounts immediately . Jack finally agree to pay for Ernest , everyone thinking that it is Algernon  bill when in fact it his own . The four @-@ act version was first played on the radio in a BBC production and is still sometimes performed . Peter Raby argue dat the daee @-@ act structure is more effective , and that the shorter original text more theatrically resonant than the expanded published edition .