The Masters’ Library panel paintings of Pietas and Liberalitas aptly underlined the play’s central thematic material – the tempting pleasures of this world, along with the necessity of keeping one’s eye on the next. Dorian declares, when for the first time he views the beauty of his portrait, that he would ‘give his soul’ to exchange his transient bloom with the perfection he sees before him. Heather Baskerville’s lavishly opulent costumes added to the overall sense of decadence and sensuality that characterised the play. Another of the delights of this production was its variety – both of venue and of pace. From the Masters’ Library it was only a short stroll to the Great Hall, where we were treated to a highly entertaining ensemble scene in which a group of glittering socialites gossiped and quipped, each outdoing the last in terms of outrage, wit and cruelty.The opulent red velvet of the curtains formed an appropriately dramatic backdrop for the arrival of Juliet, her pure white costume and guile-free smile contrasting poignantly with the sophistication of the chorus. Huw Roberts, with his imposing stature and a voice worthy of Edward Alleyn, entertained and impressed as Mr Bonneville. Mrs Vane (Katherine Gray) formed a touching duo with her daughter, Sibyl (Isabella Palmer), the girl’s innocence contrasting with the mother’s world-weariness and wonderfully comical facial expressions. Miles Dee, in a comic cameo role as the cockney stage-hand, George Hobbs, made the most of his smattering of lines, and the chorus’s ability to
remain absolutely frozen in character until the very last audience member (this writer), left the Great Hall, was most impressive. The Lower Hall was the next venue, where we witnessed Dorian’s first glimpse of his deteriorating portrait – and soul. ‘Surely a painted canvas cannot alter,’ he pleaded. ‘Look!’ commanded the implacable chorus. This was a production with no weak links, but particularly impressive were Harry Warren, whose characterisation of Wotton was perfectly detached, cynical, decadent and self-serving, contrasting beautifully with the fervour and adoration of Basil and with Gray’s demonically twisted pursuit of his pleasures. Some of the most affecting emotional depth came from Alex Holley’s heartfelt performance as Basil; his heart-wrenching declaration of love for Dorian was spoken under the symbolically sharp daggers of the Lower Hall’s pendant lights. It was time to descend into the bowels of the school. Wilde ushered us into the cellars below Lower Hall, cloyingly incense-scented and Orient- cushion-bedecked – a veritable opium den of vice. Here, Dorian was handed an apple – ‘delicious, shameful’, hummed the chorus approvingly as he bit into its flesh. The other ‘dark, desperate, sordid delights’ were, happily, left to the audience’s imagination. Here, through the temporal magic of theatre, Dorian spends years. For us, it was a mere five-minute visit, before we re-ascended to a chilly South Cloister and a chillier East Lawn, dusk having descended. The mood was colder, too, as we learned that, by now, Dorian’s notoriety had spread, his friendship considered by society to be ‘fatal to young men’, and then we witnessed Basil’s horror, as he is confronted by the blackened state of Dorian’s soul, as evidenced by the depravity and corruption of his portrait. Dorian’s demise was swift and bloody, undercut beautifully by Wilde’s remark that ‘I always find this scene so chilling.’ The line was beautifully delivered by Jack Theophanous, who must be commended also for his role as host, usher and narrator, quick with the banter and gentle with the youngest members of the promenading audience. Whilst every actor in this superb cast must be commended for their unflagging poise, focus and expressive mobility, the final accolade must go to Cameron Forbes, whose facial expression, physical presence and beautifully modulated voice, framed to perfection by the stunning interiors of the College, and complemented by his fellow actors and actresses, made him every inch the Wildean protagonist, and one of the College’s most promising young actors. MISS JO AKRILL
“Huw Roberts, with his imposing stature and a voice worthy of Edward Alleyn, entertained and
impressed as Mr Bonneville.”
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