Ladies and Gentlemen, please fix your gaze on StageSideUK’s newest review. Get comfortable, tweet out that selfie, and relax as the review of The Picture of Dorian Gray, will begin shortly.
Please be aware that this performance mentions suicide and mental health which some viewers may find upsetting. The show also contains extremely strong language and is suitable for ages 16+.
Now onto the review.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic tale of vanity, greed and selfishness. This adaptation nestles the traditional characteristics of Dorian within the world of social media and online dating.
The official description for the show states the following:
“In a profile pic-obsessed, filter-fixated world where online and reality blur, influencer Dorian Gray makes a deal. For his social star never to fade. For the perfect self he broadcasts to the world to always remain. But as his mental health starts to decline, as corruption and murderous depravity start to creep into his world, the true and horrific cost of his deal will soon need to be met”. (found on Hull Truck’s website)
(Dorian Gray Selfie)
This adaptation.
The writer, Henry Filloux-Bennett’s (and director Tamara Harvey’s) adaptation is set within university halls, online forums, video blogs and at socially distant events. Throughout the piece, characters reference many relatable, and some not so relatable, moments we have faced in the last year. Some mundane scenarios are escalated by the greed of Dorian. Many moments are fuelled by love and enabled by the temptation of close friends. This is a clever, and well written/directed, adaptation of a classic story. It lets us see the good, the bad and the ugly, and I mean very ugly, parts of our society. We see references to social media influencers and the need for instant gratification.
I believe the portrayal of modern day society is done incredibly well, with references that most will understand. The incorporation of playtexts and novel quotes provides an added depth to the show, whilst remaining fresh and new. Mentioning Shakespeare and Grindr in the same performance is something I would never have thought of doing. But these moments don’t upset the balance of the piece.
The aesthetic choices, in costuming and set dressing (by Holly Pigott), blend out the rough edges of the generational collision. The added details allow for a smooth transition from 1890’s literature (Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray) to a modern day perspective.
Arms length Dorian.
Although the details and the modern day twists are done well, I find an issue with the piece’s substance. There are a lot of things covered in the piece, but I think it goes on for a bit too long. Perhaps this is due to the video calls and pacing issues, which will be discussed a bit later, but the piece seemed to have moments full of action, and moments where there seemed to be little going on. I believe this didn’t stop me from enjoying the film, but it would have been nice to have a more consistent flow.
The content also seems a little distanced. There are moments where it seems to be going somewhere dark and then we are pulled away by a joke or a tantrum, but we rarely get to see anything deeper than an argument. I don’t think that subjecting your audience to uncomfortable situations is always appropriate, but there is such a big mention of it throughout, it seems a bit … alienating not to show us something.
The edit.
The editing of the film is good. The clunky technical elements caused a sticking point for me. One visual of the YouTube statistics (which just didn’t make sense as the views were lower than the likes) was hard to pass by. I know this is something that some people may ignore, but as they were telling us to focus on his views and subscribers, this was an important part of the film and something that created distance between me and the performance.
There is the above issue combined with the stop-start nature of video calling, which leaves the viewer with a series of uncomfortable pauses. These pauses are not that dissimilar to the average Zoom meeting, if not slightly more dragged out. These are the only negatives that I was presented with. The rest is refreshing to watch and welcome in the latter stages of the global pandemic. Though I think there were some issues, I must reiterate that this adaptation is not done badly and is not one to miss, it simply had some sticking points for my personal taste.
The Cast.
The appearance of well known actors, such as Stephen Fry (Interviewer) and Joanna Lumley (Lady Narborough),implies a successful show. Both do well with their roles and engage the audience so easily. Yet the deeper the plot gets, the more Emma McDonald (Sibyl Vane) and Fionn Whitehead (Dorian Gray) shine through. Their balanced and well rounded character work and commitment to the roles, especially in those difficult moments, highlights their successes.
The rating!
Packed with emotionally fuelled drama, hard to hear moments and dangerously flirtatious ‘friends’, this performance is one to watch. This new adaptation is a welcome addition to my ‘viewed at home’ catalogue.
I would give this performance a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. If the video calls and reactions were smoother, and we were let into some of the dark secrets of Dorian, I would have enjoyed the piece much more. It is not a bad experience at all, and is worth the watch. There are just some small wrinkles that need face tuning, before I would rewatch this story.
This performance streams, online, through Hull Truck, between the 16th and 31st March (Tickets available here)
Are you going to get a ticket and watch The Picture of Dorian Gray? Have you seen the piece and want to talk about some of your favourite bits? Let us know in the comments section!
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The images used in the review are taken from the performance or are production photos. I do not own the image and I will remove them if requested.