★★★★ REVIEW: The Picture of Dorian Gray (West End) | the new adaptation starring Sarah Snook
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
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OHMYGOD HEY!
I recently attended the opening night of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, a new theatrical adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story, transferring to London from Australia.
The play stars succession star Sarah Snook in a tour de force performance as each of the narrative's characters, aided by cutting edge deployment of live camera feeds and prerecorded footage.
But how many cameras is too many? Find out more about my conflicted thoughts on this production in today's new review...
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00:00 | introduction
03:18 | synopsis, adaptation
06:55 | overview, what I enjoyed
11:35 | shortcomings
18:38 | Sarah Snook's performance
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The fact that Sarah Snook is playing over 20+ roles with the help of onstage technology just sounds extraordinary! Definitely a new approach to theatre.
yes, but is using one person for the entire cast actually a good thing? It sounds terrible. The diversity of the actors personalities and how they interact with each other is what makes most shows great.
@@emhu2594 Remember Jodie Comer went back and forth between other characters besides her main one, Tess, in Prima Facie. She delivered a MASTERFUL performance.
@dylansmith1833 did you see Andrew Scott's performance in Vanya?
I saw this last weekend and absolutely adored it, though I can still understand your critiques. I think the main question that determines where you fall on this adaptation is - can there be too much artifice in a work whose main thematic concern is with artifice?
You just made me realize that I'll be visiting London while this is playing in the West End and I'm a HUGE Sarah Snook fan so I may have to drop by one night!! thank u for this review king
Ariana???!!!
Thank you for naming the entire technical team! I'm so glad l saw your review on the day Sarah Snook won the Olivier Award. Wish l could see it.
I saw this a couple of weeks ago, and I completely agree with everything you said. It is technologically, technically, craft and skill-wise, mesmerising to see this astounding choreography unfold, especially being an actress myself.
For me, though, as the show progressed, it became increasingly difficult to keep an emotional connection with what was happening on stage, and not just because of the increased use of screens and scene changes.
For me it cut me off during the last 20 minutes, where (at least the day that I saw it) the performance seemed to prematurely plateau at an extremely high energy level, never even slightly coming down until the end: Sarah Snook basically spent those 20 minutes screaming, crying and in a huge tension catharsis regardless of there being different situations and interactions, making it at once extremely impressive in terms of endurance and extremely tiring and one-note.
I left feeling so divided, on one hand completely in awe with all the masterful execution and skills displayed by everyone involved, and on the other hand feeling it was one of those “too deliberate” works that end up feeling a bit too detached and pandering to the award season. Which, undeniably, were warranted, but still… I felt there was something off, you know?
Super interesting experience, for sure!
Just saw it last weekend! Can totally agree with your concerns and at the same time be absolutely flabbergasted with the sheer ambitiousness of this production. It cannot be overstated what Sarah is doing is Herculean in terms of performance. I agree that some of the emotional through line is lost through the use of the screens. However when I was watching her interact with the camera operators it was almost as though they were her scene partners dancing with her and that kept me feeling that human connection. Not to mention specifically the last scene; her emotional investment completely came around and hooked me, almost entirely forgiving any lack of connection I was feeling for the previous 2 hours. Even if on a screen, Sarah was giving such a committed and affecting performance I even found myself tearing up by the end! I hear rumours of a Broadway transfer and I hope it leads her to her first Tony
Saw this last night, so had avoided your review up until that point. Your views on this version of the play almost align with mine. Some brilliant points made.
I love your reviews, especially of shows I know nothing about.
Seeing this in a couple of weeks, and can't wait!
Love your jacket btw
I also loved/hated this show. Saw it this week and I was so in awe of Sarah Snook and a lot of the storytelling. The Olivier is 1000% deserved.
I have however never been more pissed off at a sightline (Which is really saying something as a wheelchair user) Sitting in the access seating at the back of the stalls meant I could barely see any of the screen/s (max 50% for most of the show). The last few rows are provided with one small screen to portray what's missing but it definitely wasn't comparable and felt very disjointed.
The bits of the show that are played out to the audience at a normal level really were great and worth going for.
I saw this in Melbourne, Australia, in 2022. It's a beautiful - at times breathtaking - design. The demands of the actor are extreme and the actor was incredibly impressive.
Those are the things that stayed with me. I was more IMPRESSED than INVESTED. I think the story itself is what let it down: the story just doesn't really do it for me. Perhaps I'd have bought into a more pruned version of the story, but it went on a bit long and lagged at times. I also wondered if I'd have enjoyed it more if there had been an interval. It felt very long, but probably wouldn't have if it had been two acts.
I think a traditional telling of the story would not interest me, so the choice to present it this way is more than justified. I tend to be kinder and more forgiving of one-person shows, because they meet certain limitations and the focus tends to be on the performance itself. But this show stops feeling like a one-person show so I didn't judge it as such.
I would still recommend it to anyone. Even if the story does not resonate with you, there is a lot to enjoy.
Have you ever seen the borne show at universal Orlando?. I wonder if we will ever see that technology on a broadway show.
The context that London audiences are missing with this show is that this is Kip Williams' thing. It's far less innovative and impressive once you've seen several of his plays where he basically does entirely the same thing and you realise he relies on technical gimmicks over actual direction.
I thought this review was spot on. His direction reminds me of an arts student who thinks they're being so clever and original, but his use of technology doesn't usually enhance the production or add anything meaningful.
Amazing review as always ❤
I saw a Saturday matinee and understand your critiques as well as your praise, though I do think that the artifice was the point and that jarring sensation of an almost disconnect emotionally resonated with me in the way Dorian is disconnected from his peers. Also Sarah Snook in dandy drag felt delightfully queer to me - giving a Sarah Waters / Russell T Davis' Casanova flavour to the Wildeness of the play. One thing I also thought was commendable that you didn't mention was the sense of humour that was retained, a very knowing wit that I appreciated again for it's Wilde quality. (My experience was only dampened by the man who said he was from the Guardian who was screaming at front of house staff extremely rudely at the end of the play for some apparent reason. Absolutely gross behaviour - I'd side eye any commentary that came from that publication after witnessing that.)
So glad you saw this!!!! The original was 🤯 I'm sure Sarah does a great job, but big shoes to fill
In the opium den scene, in Melbourne, it was a big wall of streamers on stage and Dorian comes in and out of it, so some is hidden but more like we are getting the view from the wings. I was so impressed with the technical elements. There was one moment towards the end when she skipped some lines and the VIDEO WAS EDITED ON THE FLY TO KEEP UP WITH HER. Jeeezzzussss. So freakin cool, my friend missed it but my stage manager brain was like - I see what happened there.
Thanks for a great explanation of this play. You articulated the good points and shortcomings well. It sounds impressive and intriguing.
As for one person shows, Jodie Comer was brilliant in Prima Facie. I was privileged to see her during the Broadway run.
Your first experience of The Sydney Theatre Company. Cate Blanchett was in my row at Waiting for Godot. I nearly died. If Andrew Upton hadn't performed CPR I might have missed the first act.
I waited to wait to watch your review until I’d seen it, and now I can appreciate your thoughts! I love Wilde’s novel but hadn’t read it in decades, so I listened to the audiobook last month in advance of seeing this adaptation. Honestly, now I kind of wish I hadn’t, because there were scenes and characters done dirty by this production.
I agree that Sarah Snook is wonderful in a gargantuan feat of acting, and the tech was impressive, but I did not feel emotionally invested in this piece at all. I get that the novel is a commentary on artifice, and the idea that selfies are the new version of painted portraits, and I really loved Sarah switching between Basil, Harry, and the narrator when she first walks onstage. But I soon tired of only getting occasional glimpses of her on stage rather than screens.
Rereading the novel, I was struck by the sheer suspense of the scene where Dorian show Basil his portrait - we’re briefly plunged into a modern thriller. None of that emotion was present when Sarah attacked herself, completely hidden from the audience’s view.
In Wilde’s book, there was also much more pathos in James Vane’s quest for vengeance that was completely flattened by Sarah in a silly wig or beard filter to just another baddie. Sybil Vane got short shrift too, as we never got to see her the way Dorian fell in love with her, only the ridiculous over-the-top version.
The passage of time also wasn’t as obvious in the play. As much as this production dragged for me at two hours, I might have preferred a longer, two-act show that addressed some of the emotional themes that felt lacking. But I don’t know if you could build emotion in this particular production because of its reliance on tech. I’m glad I saw it, but I’m glad I “only” paid £100 to sit in the back of the stalls. Paying more money to see Sarah rarely act on stage unobstructed seems a bit ludicrous.
I think in terms of camera use on stage it’s one of, if not the best I’ve seen.
My problem with screens and cameras is the latency is always ever so slightly off and it’s worse in other productions. I felt in this one it was the closest I’ve seen that it didn’t really bother me that much. Even in Sunset Blvd, that slight delay was really annoying to watch.
In general I’m not a fan of screens, especially when you have actor on stage as well as them on a giant screen I find myself fighting to decide what I should be focusing my attention on, the live feed of their performance or themselves on the stage.
First thing I saw I think that used cameras and screens was the 2019 production of Chess and I absolutely hated it. Then it was Bat out of hell which made me hate it even more lol
I avoid all Ivo van Hove’s work because he’s obsessed with them and his work in particular I feel like nothing of value is added. Especially with shows like All About Eve and now with Opening Night.
Great to hear it’s still interesting touring overseas! And the tech is extraordinary.
Honestly, my biggest issue is the ticket price. I'm very intrigued by the concept but the cost is very steep for something I'm not 100% sure about 🤔
Try the todaytix 20 pound lottery
Can't wait for your video commenting on Devil Wears Prada Vol. 2 updates.
I have mixed feelings as Vanessa Williams is not my favorite singer and is kind of boring acting wise. Loved her in the movie Dance with Me. I also have very mixed feelings about Elton John doing the music.
I will be reading this book soon and can’t wait to start it.❤
to answer your question....and I've said it before....you would make a great director...looking back at all of your reviews i think of all the train wrecks you could have prevented.....you might have even saved Bad Cinderella.
i agree on the directing, mickey has great clarity and really prioritises a clear vision!
Development context may be relevant to understanding the design of the show: this production was developed during 2020 while theatre makers were trying to find safe ways to make theatre. When I saw it in Sydney, I think it was early 2021, and mask wearing in the theatre was probably still mandatory. This would have informed a lot of the choices of how the show was structured, (that classic creative exercise of introducing a major constraint and seeing what is born of it) and I don’t know if there have been many changes with the UK transfer.
When I watched it, I found it gobsmacking and enthralling, on a technical AND emotional level. I didn’t feel removed from the actor playing Dorian, I felt like they were brought to me in a myriad of ways that expanded over the course of the show. The book of this story seems particularly suited to having one actor perform it all, because each character can serve as a foil for another, and the tech for me pulled out different layers of those characters at different points.
Again, something about the newness of experiencing theatre in early 2021 probably did influence the way I received it. Whether it was through a scene or not, it was always the Actor, and the crew.
I’m not sure you can ever see the portrait in the show, because what physical portrait is ever going to meet the expectations developed over the show, in a way to satisfy all viewers? The live doodled photo was probably the closest to conveying the sense of the grotesque that the portrait would need.
There is a Kip Williams adaptation of Dracula playing in Sydney at the moment, which I didn’t like as much as The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Actor is still captivating, the tech crew amazing, but I don’t think the book is as effectively served by the format. I look forward to seeing how other creatives take inspiration and explore this sort of theatre making in the current context.
This sounds a little bit like Circle Jerk from Fake Friends - it was livestreamed and had a lot of camera work and three characters playing multiple characters. But Circle Jerk was absolutely bonkers
... it *almost* sounds like this is a production more for the the Gen Z/Alpha crowd, which I think is phenomenal, to get more younger people into the theater with an aesthetic that plays more to their generation whilst still giving us an impressive night of theater is perfect
I saw this in Vienna Austria in 2018 - what a wonderful modern take on this classic piece and I would love to bring non-theatre-goers with me to show them what it’s all about 🙌🏻
Sorry but where did you get that coat those flowers look lovely?
Never seen a second of Succession but I somehow intrinsically know this is the Shiv-est thing.
the original material is so powerful and deeply troubling. I wonder if the moral force of it is lost.
Not watching this yet as I don't really want any spoilers if I can avoid them, but very intrigued by your reaction!! Look forward to coming back after I've seen this (sadly not until May)!
same, i have tix for april. no spoilers really in the video.
Finally saw this tonight! I think you've got it spot on - very impressive and some truly amazing, ingenious moments, but I was always finding myself craving I could actually see Sarah live more
I applaud the production for trying something new. For me personally you loose a lot of the human connection I love in theatre. With that many screens.
The spectacle of the screen becomes my attention instead of the story.
Mickey, have you seen Vanya? Curious about your thoughts!
Are you going to see Plaza Suite while it is there?
I really don’t know if The Picture of Dorian Grey needs to be a single person show- because a big part of Dorian Grey is about how Dorian affects other people. I think- and hear me out on this one- if they wanted to do something crazy, have all of the cast on stage and the only one on the screen is Dorian!
A one-person show with numerous characters can be difficult to perform effectively. The only performer that I've seen who was brilliant was Jefferson Mays. I saw his A Christmas Carol, which was stunning without cameras and tricks. His Bob Marley's ghost was actually chilling. I also was an unbelievable one person show of Frankenstein--it was stunning and deeply affecting. So, I admit to being a tiny bit skeptical of this show due to the electronic devices and screens employed. That can feel like there are other actors and, for me, that diminishes some of the magic. Only my opinion. YMMV !!
I saw it in Australia and like you, felt a real disconnect. I agree that technically it was very impressive but the technology took me out of the show too. Honestly, while I understood that what I was seeing was objectively very well produced, I found it difficult to connect with and sometimes was even a bit bored. The statements the show is making are not at all subtle and it feels like theatre that’s trying too hard in the material to match the high quality production elements.
Wait...so they do a version The Picture of Dorian Gray where you never see the painting itself? Not even at the very end? 🤔
You don't 'see' the painting in the book until the end either. There are bits described, but it's not until the end where it's described in full. By that point, it's just obscene. The version we see in the movie is grotesque, but the version in my mind is always worse.
Take a shot everytime Mickey Jo says Sarah Snook.
Don't - you'll die.
sorry this is just far too expensive, shocking prices when I saw the cost.
I think it started out very well, but the last hour felt like all she did was shout and moan. I couldn't catch a lot of the Oscar Wilde wit because she sped through her lines and I couldn't understand what she was saying. I think more work definitely needed to be done on the second act before opening the show. While i liked some of the comedic moments, the show added very little of substance to the story itself...I feel like Dorian gray ended up being more shallow and flat here than in other movie versions. We aren't shown much in the way of why he does what he does.