The Picture of Dorian Gray (O'Connor/Holland)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (O'Connor/Holland)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (O'Connor/Holland)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (O'Connor/Holland)

Overview

Set in the decadent world of Victorian London, a beautiful young man called Dorian Gray becomes infatuated by the exquisite portrait that Basil Hallward has painted of him. He makes a Faustian pact that he will remain forever young while the picture grows old.

Oscar Wilde’s only novel caused an immediate scandal when it was first published in 1890 and its themes of youth and decay, innocence and corruption, art and reality are even more relevant to us in the 21st century than in the 19th.

Adapted by Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland and John O’Connor, this delightfully witty version of Wilde’s story incorporates material suppressed from the original manuscript.

Want to perform this show?

Details

  • Genre: Adaptations (Literature)
  • Time Period: Victorian (British and American)
  • Cast Attributes: Ensemble cast, Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Expandable casting
  • Target Audience: Adult

Authors

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Dublin to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane. While studying at Oxford, he was fascinated by the aesthetic movement and eventually became a proponent for L'art pour l'art ("Art for Art's Sake") and wrote the award-winning poem "Ravenna." U ...

View full profile

John O'Connor

John is an actor, director, writer and producer. He studied Drama at the University of Manchester before living and working in Japan. In 2002, he founded the touring theatre group European Arts Company (www.europeanarts.co.uk). Their first production was a British Council spo ...
View full profile

Merlin Holland

Merlin Holland, the only grandson of Oscar Wilde, is an author living in France. For the last thirty years, he has been researching his grandfather's life and works; he writes, lectures and broadcasts regularly on the subject in English, French and German. His publications in ...

View full profile

Community

Community Experiences