The English actor and theatre manager Beerbohm Tree began performing in the 1870s and by 1887 was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the rebuilding, and became manager, of His Majesty's Theatre.

In 1893 Herbert Beerbohm Tree commissioned Wilde to write a play for the Haymarket Theatre. That play was A Woman of No Importance, Wilde’s second society comedy. Beerbohm Tree created the role of the dandyish cad, Lord Illingworth, while the heroine, Mrs Arbuthnot, was played by Wilde’s friend Mrs Bernard Beere. The production ran for 113 performances. By the standards of the day, it was a hit.

In 1907, seven years after the author’s death, Tree decided to revive the play for His Majesty’s Theatre, casting Marion Terry as Mrs Arbuthnot. Terry had previously created the role of Mrs Erlynne in Lady Windermere’s Fan.