Picture of Dorian Gray - (Oberon Modern Plays) by Neil Bartlett (Paperback)

About the Book

This adaptation of Wilde's black-hearted masterpiece brings his most dangerous anti-hero back to theatrical life in Bartlett's trademark flamboyant style.

Book Synopsis

A disturbing tale of a young man's uncanny ability to remain young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery. A Picture of Dorian Gray, the scandalous 1891 bestseller, was considered proof of Wilde's genius, but also of his perversion: a damning piece of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.

Review Quotes

"Bartlett's new adaptation... is refreshingly and illuminatingly unconventional." - Irish Times

"Arresting adaptation...It glitters artfully; it leaves us desolate." 4 stars - Guardian

"It is a long time since Dublin was shocked by Oscar Wilde, but Neil Bartlett's adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray does something to recall the tremors.... Bartlett's real gift is to capture the lethal surprise of Wilde's only novel" - Observer

About the Author

Described as having 'a brilliantly contemporary understanding of Wilde' (The Irish Times), Neil Bartlett is one of Britain's most acclaimed and original theatre-makers. A theatre radical, Neil Bartlett's recent collaborations are at the forefront of international theatre making and include work with Complicite, Improbable, Lepage, Handspring (creators of Warhorse) and Artangel.
Oscar Wilde (1854 -1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s, perhaps best known for The Importance of Being Earnest and A Picture of Dorian Gray. Today he is remembered for his plays and the circumstances of his imprisonment, followed by his early death.