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The Picture of Dorian Gray (Williams)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1any gender (adult)

Based on the book by Oscar Wilde
Adapted by Kip Williams

This groundbreaking adaptation by Kip Williams delivers an explosive interplay of theatrical forms that bring Oscar Wilde’s prophetic fable crashing into the present.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Williams)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! Two 2024 Olivier Awards

Details

Summary

“I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”

Seeing himself in a dazzling new portrait, an exquisite young man makes a Faustian wish for eternal youth. Dorian Gray throws himself into a life of wanton luxury, drifting from the pampered salons of Victorian London to the darkest recesses of the capital, revelling in the splendour of his beauty, which remains forever golden. Meanwhile, the portrait – banished to an attic – becomes more and more grotesque.

Building on a career-long fascination with theatrical innovation and spectacular reinventions of classic stories (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Suddenly Last Summer and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui), STC Artistic Director Kip Williams has written an adaption of Wilde’s century-old fable of beauty and a deal with the devil that is a magnificent mirror to our times. Earning a wave of five-star reviews, this vibrantly contemporary adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Grayis a “dazzling masterpiece no one should miss” (The Age).

History
This adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray was first produced by Sydney Theatre Company and premiered at Roslyn Packer Theatre on 28 November 2020. The play transferred to  the West End and was produced by the Michael Casssel Group and Kindred Partners with the Sydney Theatre Company at Theatre Royal Haymarket, in London, UK on 6 February 2024.
Keywords
Performing Groups
NARRATOR
DORIAN
BASIL
LORD HENRY
LADY AGATHA
DUCHESS
SIR THOMAS
MR ERSKINE
MRS VANDELEUR
SIBYL VANE
MRS LEAF
FRANCIS
ALAN CAMPBELL
CLUBBER #1
CLUBBER #2
VIOLET
JAMES VANE
ADRIAN SINGLETON
CLUBBER #3
CLUBBER #4
CLUBBER #5
BEARDED DRAG QUEEN
GENTLEMAN
ELDER GENTLEMAN
YOUNGER GENTLEMAN

This play is written for one performer. In it they play all characters, including the Narrator. Dialogue from other characters within the Narrator’s lines should be played in the voice of those characters. The performer is live throughout the entire performance, and will at times play in scenes opposite themselves. This is achieved by intersplicing their live performance with prerecorded performances displayed on screens. No other actors are used; every character is performed by the sole performer. In a handful of instances early on in the play, we hear some characters as a voice-over, again, voiced by the same performer. Lines that are performed by prerecorded characters are indicated as such. Lines performed as prerecorded voice-over are indicated as such. Shared lines are indicated as such.

  • Time Period Victorian (British and American), 19th Century
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“An astonishing piece of theatre.” – Financial Times

“An extraordinary event.” – Evening Standard

“[A] dizzyingly beautiful tour de force.” – The Guardian

“Nothing short of extraordinary.” – The Reviews Hub

“Fascinating – and wildly entertaining.” – The Stage

“Williams cleverly plays on this contemporaneity, creating a phantasmagorical sequence of effects that are both pitched in the past and yet perfectly conjure the dominance of self and appearance in modern culture.” – WhatsOnStage

Videos

  • The Picture of Dorian Gray – Official West End Trailer youtube thumbnail

    The Picture of Dorian Gray – Official West End Trailer

  • The Picture of Dorian Gray – Sydney Theatre Company 2023 youtube thumbnail

    The Picture of Dorian Gray – Sydney Theatre Company 2023

  • The Picture of Dorian Gray – Interview with the STC Creatives youtube thumbnail

    The Picture of Dorian Gray – Interview with the STC Creatives

Licensing & Materials

Scripts

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Authors

Kip Williams

Kip Williams

Kip Williams is an award-winning writer and director of theatre and opera. He is the current Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Sydney Theatre Company, a role he has held since November 2016. His appointment at age thirty made him the youngest Artistic Director in the company ...

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