Oscar Wilde’s novel, the Picture of Dorian Gray is a classing that in it’s original form continues to be relevant throughout the decades – however, Henry Filloux-Bennett’s new adaptation takes the story of vanity, self-obsession and ultimately self-loathing to a new level and captures this moment in time to perfection.
In this unique online production, it is not the painting in the attic which ages, it is the face behind the social media filter which depicts the downfall of Dorian – offered eternal youth and beauty at a cost to his sanity.
Today we all have the option to be Dorian, and create the perfect image of ourselves with the aid of an app and a smartphone. The irony of ‘The Interviewer’ being one of Twitters first celebrity users, who has turn their back on the global phenomena of social media is not lost. Stephen Fry is the perfect actor to take this role. His façade of respectability and urge to uncover the truth of what happened, yet being the face of the media picks through the tragedy of people’s lives for entertainment.
Joanna Lumbley as Lady Narborough is charmingly self-deprecating. Her character requests “no close ups” yet the actor revels in the harsh, direct intrusion of the camera. She is not afraid to let the filter drop., and let her character’s flaws and hypocrisy shine through. When is an illegal COVID 21st birthday party not illegal – when it is a fund raiser darling!
While the Interviewer appears to control the narrative of the production, the ability for anyone and everyone to control their own story they tell the world in pixels dominates he tragedy which unravels.
Alfred Enock as Harry Wotton brings arrogance and charm in equal measures to his role as Dorian’s fiend, while the Russell Tovey as Basil Hallward the photographer and digital image wizard that offers Dorian everlasting beauty, is rarely seen on screen, yet the impact of his presence is felt throughout. Fionn Whitehad as Dorian captures everything that Wilde created and builds upon it to be the social media influencer we see domineering our feeds.
Emma McDonald as Dorian’s girlfriend Sibyl Vane provides an honesty and naivety to counterbalance Dorian’s character as he transforms before our eyes.
This imaginative recreation of the novel set in the present lockdown is so perfect at capturing the mood and zeitgeist of this unpresented moment in human history. Using mobile phones, iPads and Macs alongside traditional camera work with brilliant and imaginative editing, this production creates a new genre. It’s not a film or a stage production, it is a unique piece of drama using every means of communicating with the audience in a refreshing and deeply moving way.
The writer has brought a new perspective on a classic book, the cast are perfectly selected for their roles do deliver the hard-hitting messages. The creative team have used every technique and opportunity at their disposal to bring a production not to be missed.
Reviewer Karen Morley-Chesworth
- The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Henry Filloux-Bennett, based on Oscar Wilde’s story. Online Co-production by The Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre, New Wolsey Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Theatr Clwyd. Tuesday 16 – Wednesday 31 March 2021. Live from 12 am on day of purchase for 48 hours. Book via Theatre by the Lake’s website: www.theatrebythelake.com
