Bedford's Lady Bracknell to be filmed in HD

Brian Bedford's hit Broadway performance as Lady Bracknell is going international.

Bedford has been the talk of New York for his performance in The Importance of Being Earnest, a role he debuted at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ont.

On Tuesday, New York's Roundabout Theatre announced the production will be filmed live in HD for broadcastinmovie theatres in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The production,which isdirected by Bedford,has already been extended until July 3 because of demand for tickets.

Bedford, a Tony-winning actor and theatre director, plays a formidable Lady Bracknell, mother of the lovely Gwendolen in the Oscar Wilde classic.

Another Stratford regular, actress Sara Topham, is also in New York reprising the role of Gwendolen in Earnest.

Stratford artistic director Des McAnuff convinced British-born Bedford to play the role in drag for a 2009 production at Stratford, and audiences loved it.

After Earnest's smash run in Stratford, the Roundabout decided to bring it to New York.

Producers say the March 11 and 12 performances at New York's American Airlines Theatre will be filmed.

Bracknell's turn in Earnest joins performances such as Christopher Plummer's The Tempest at Stratford in heading tomovie screens.