A brand new version of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale, The Tragedy of Dorian Gray, which sets the tale in amid the swinging 60s, will run as both a live and streamable production at the Brighton Fringe this summer. Book your tickets now!
The Blue Devil production, which was due to debut at last year’s Brighton Fringe but was postponed due to COVID, will run live at the Rialto from 29-31 May 2021 and 22-24 June 2021. Theatre fans who can’t get to Brighton can also watch it online from 28 May to 27 June 2021.
It’s 1965, the world has changed, and London is swinging…
In a studio in Chelsea, a young man is about to have his portrait painted. From there, Dorian’s story of fame, vanity, lust and corruption will take audiences on a twisted odyssey through heartbreak, betrayal and a touch of bloody murder.
Dorian Gray seems to have everything – a handsome and talented musician, recently married to the celebrated actress, Sybil Vane and welcomed into the smart set of ’60s London.
Captivated by Dorian and his good looks, controversial artist, Basil Hallward, produces an extraordinary work of art, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Basil’s friend, the charming, yet devious Harry Wotton, thinks Dorian lacks ambition and is squandering his youth. However, the beguiling painting soon inspires Harry to form a complex and cold-blooded plan, a plan that will elevate Dorian to the highest level of celebrity and influence. But there will be a terrible price to pay.
As the decades pass, mysteriously, Dorian appears to remain forever young, never changing, whilst his dark odyssey of fame, vanity, lust and corruption rips through the lives of all those around him. Ultimately, heartbreak, betrayal and murder lead to a devastating climax at the turn of the millennium as Dorian’s horrific secret is finally revealed.
This brand new adaptation of The Tragedy of Dorian Gray is written and directed by Ross Dinwiddy, co-founder and Artistic Director of Blue Devil Productions. Dinwiddy previously directed Blue Devil’s inaugural production, Ruffian on the Stair, which earned the company a Best Newcomer nomination at the 2017 Brighton Fringe Awards. He went on to write and direct Apparatus, which was nominated for the Best New Play at the 2018 Brighton Fringe Awards, and 2019’s The Geminus, which followed Brighton success with a run at London’s Tristan Bates Theatre.
Speaking about the production, Dinwiddy said:
“This has been a massive undertaking for all involved. But fortunately, everyone has stayed motivated and committed to the project throughout the most difficult and challenging of years. I couldn’t be prouder of our team. Who would have thought in 2019, when we began work on The Tragedy of Dorian Gray, that this play based on a 19th century gothic novel would only be made possible with the use of Zoom rehearsals and lateral flow tests?”
Maximus Polling leads the cast of The Tragedy of Dorian Gray, taking the title role. Kace Monney stars as Harry Wotton. Tara Clark, Christopher Sherwood, Tom Taplin and Heather Alexander complete the cast.
Polling returns to work with Blue Devil having previously appeared in Apparatus, while Monney’s past productions include his own play The Luncheon, which ran at the White Bear Theatre. Clark’s credits include productions of Buried, Jerusalem and Vanity Fair, Sherwood has appeared in Border Control (Vault Festival), Different From The Others (White Bear Theatre) and The Black Eye Club (Bread and Roses Theatre). Taplin has been seen in The Winter’s Tale (OSO Arts), Shackleton and his Stowaway (Cervantes Theatre) and I’m Glad I Crashed the Wedding (Bunker Theatre), while Alexander has appeared in the West End in Noises Off!, Look No Hans and Run for your Wife.
Brighton Fringe, which runs from 28 May, is the largest open-access arts festival in England. Cancelled in 2020 due to COVID – though they still managed to run a much-reduced live and digital Autumn season, in 2019 it featured 1034 events in 164 venues across the city, attracting audiences of more than 604,000. In 2021 they are joined by digital theatre specialists Living Record, whose own productions include Thrown and Mr Cleverly’s Trans-Continental Delivery Service, who will present digital productions including The Tragedy of Dorian Gray throughout the run of the Fringe festival.
The Tragedy of Dorian Gray runs at Rialto Theatre, 11 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3FE as part of the Brighton Fringe from 29-31 May 2021 and 22-24 June 2021, with performances 29 & 30 May at 2pm, 31 May & 22-24 June at 8pm. Tickets are priced £12.50. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE! The Tragedy of Dorian Gray also runs online as part of the festival. Tickets are priced £9. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.
