'The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.'
Dorian Gray – handsome, hedonistic, narcissistic – sells his soul for eternal beauty. Basil and Henry join him for the ride until it all goes too far, and the hangovers become murderous...
Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was a succès de scandale on its publication in 1891, accused of violating the laws of public morality. It immediately captured the minds of its readers, the spirit of the age, and the soul of a man with nothing to declare but his genius.
This thrilling stage adaptation by Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Owen Horsley follows one man's descent from glorious debauchery to epic self-destruction, intertwined with Wilde's own life story, his tragic persecution, and ultimate imprisonment in Reading Gaol. Its first full production premiered at Reading Rep Theatre in October 2021.
'Eye-poppingly experimental... an explosion of glamorous and grotesque characters – some Victorian, some contemporary and some pure camp figments of the imagination... a dizzying adventure that always dares to dazzle... so very brave and original' — Guardian
'A radical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's gothic novel that reaffirms and celebrates the piece's significance as a touchstone of queer art' — The Stage
'Sizzles with homoerotic fervour... a deliciously camp rebuke of the attitudes which saw a man humiliated, brutalised and outcast for being gay' — Telegraph
About the Author :
Phoebe Eclair-Powell is a writer from South East London.
Her plays include: Shed: Exploded View (Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2024); Dorian, adapted with Owen Horsley from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (Reading Rep Theatre, 2021); Harm (Bush Theatre, 2021); Epic Love and Pop Songs (Pleasance, Edinburgh, 2016); Fury (Soho Theatre, 2016); WINK (Theatre503, 2015); One Under (Pleasance Below); Mrs Spine (OUTLINES at the Old Red Lion); Bangin' Wolves (Courting Drama at the Bush Upstairs, published by Playdead Press, later with Poleroid Theatre for Wilderness Festival); two rapid write response pieces, Coal Eaters and Glass Hands (Theatre503); The Box (Theatre Delicatessen SPACED festival and Latitude Festival); Elephant and My Castle (SALT Theatre at Southwark Playhouse); CARE (Miniaturists at the Arcola).
She was the overall winner of the 2019 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, for her play Shed: Exploded View. Fury was a finalist for the 2015 Verity Bargate Award, and the winner of the Soho Theatre Young Writers' Award.
Owen Horsley is a theatre director. He trained at Drama Centre London and is an Associate Director of Cheek by Jowl. In 2016 he created Bard City, which offers Shakespeare training in New York and London as well as presenting innovative versions of his work.
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. His plays include The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere's Fan and A Woman of No Importance.
Review :
'Eye-poppingly experimental... an explosion of glamorous and grotesque characters – some Victorian, some contemporary and some pure camp figments of the imagination... a dizzying adventure that always dares to dazzle... so very brave and original'
'A radical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's gothic novel that reaffirms and celebrates the piece's significance as a touchstone of queer art'
'Sizzles with homoerotic fervour... a deliciously camp rebuke of the attitudes which saw a man humiliated, brutalised and outcast for being gay'
