Curtainraiser's upcoming performance of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is another plunge into the work of the most recognised of Irish authors. But rather than clinging to one of his hilariously witty plays, this is an adaptation of Wilde's only novel in which a beautiful young man strikes a deal for eternal good looks, while his portrait absorbs all the ravages of time and moral depravity. Patrick Vella is directing a cast of popular actors while Tony Cassar Darien is the man behind the Maltese script.
Few authors have garnered the adulation, the persecution, the fame, the notoriety that Oscar Wilde did during his lifetime. Or the relentless posthumous spotlight on both his epigrammatic wit and chequered life. His comedies are a permanent fixture at the West End and also among amateur dramatic companies that have fallen under the spell of British drama which, bar Shakespeare, basically owes it all to a list of luminous Irish dramatists. This is possibly the greatest irony in British theatre, past and present. Irony interwoven with endless paradox is the quintessence of Wilde - the man who defined art as both utterly futile and absolutely necessary; the writer who derided critics, but pinned his writings on social, aesthetic and philosophical jibes.
Given its fixation with eternal youth and beauty and penned during the blatantly-decadent belle époque, The Picture of Dorian Gray can be regarded as the darker side of the famous comedies. Its cynicism makes unmissable under/overtones. Our manic obsession with the body beautiful and designer gear ironically makes this novel more relevant than in the late 19th century. Now, it's impossible to talk about Wilde's works without referring to his poseur persona and his addiction to living in the headlines. So my first question to Mr Cassar Darien zeroed into what dramatic/theatrical elements he found significant in the novel and which he reworked into the script. "This question merits not an article but a whole book. Cynicism/under/ overtones/witticisms... If you look up Wiki quote from Wikipedia there are 19 pages of such stuff attributed to all his work. Pages 4, 5, 6, 7 are devoted to quotes from the novel - the biggest chunk from any of his other works. The Picture of Dorian Gray is riddled with contradictions. I believe Oscar Wilde lived two lives. His public persona of cocky dandy; his secret life tortured by inner, especially sexual, confusion."
A neat division between the two unsurprisingly proved untenable in the long term. The bleakness of Wilde's last years transformed from social darling to social outcast can actually be seen as a foretold conclusion. Therefore, Wilde's humour is truly double-edged - incredibly funny and sad. The name, Dorian Gray, is instantly indicative of a split personality. "Capturing this sense of blur is crucial," Mr Cassar Darien states. "That such a dramatic novel by such a theatrical writer has, as far as I know, never been adapted to the stage adds another layer of irony because The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the classics in English literature. So this production speaks of a great deal of guts on the part of the director and his cast."
Adapting Wilde's only novel has long been brewing in Mr Cassar Darien's mind. "I've always been intrigued by Wilde. The novel seemed to suggest to me some very intriguing, not mainstream ideas. Meeting his only grandson who is something of a recluse was another spur. I tried to find out a good stage adaptation, but could find only one by John Osborne - The Look Back in Anger author. It never really worked for him. There are also four film adaptations. But then I always wanted to do my own which does take some liberties with the original."
Spilling the beans on these "liberties" will let the cat out of the bag, so I dug into what factors Mr Cassar Darien keeps well in mind during the process of morphing a novel for the stage. "Pick the bone of any dramatic element," is the immediate reply. "It's mostly one, very strong, very conflicting, situation. Then coax it into various fragments which will later, fingers-crossed, make up the sum total of the whole piece. Eliminate all secondary characters and work to an ideal cast of four, six are the very very max ...
"In this day and age (never mind the commercial considerations) it's not fair throwing more than six talking heads at an audience. This video-era just cannot take it."
Mr Cassar Darien does not work with a cast or director in mind. "My work is far from easy. For my 'live' theatre if possible I want an actor to say the lines, while walking on a tightrope, and juggling with plates ... I like the audience to eat its heart out; will he fall? Will he break a plate? Will he remember his lines? This element of risk-taking is what enhances the live element. The sweat and the gasping for breath at the end of a performance is what differentiate theatre from soaps, where everybody is always clean-shaven and the only strain seems to be the rolling of the retinas."
"Although the novel is semi-autobiographical, Wilde's contemporary image of gay martyr does not help because it tends to overshadow his inner demons fired by his fear of moral and artistic paralysis ... consequently total collapse."
Talk of Wilde's fears leads to his exploitation of the Faustian theme within the canvas of Dorian Gray. "This along with the element of the macabre makes Dorian Gray's story and his picture truly disturbing because it confronts us head-on with evil."
Is Mr Cassar Darien bothered about his adaptation being written off as a mere period/drawing room piece? "Possibly, had it been some anaemic restoration comedy. As for Dorian Gray, the plot and dialogue are far too powerful. All the media hype blasting the wonders of cosmetic surgery and image make-overs shows how we have sold our souls to commerce. Dorian Gray had a better chance of getting out of the net than we do!" Mr Cassar Darien affirms. This is why the most challenging aspect to project was "definitely" the constantly decaying canvas.
"A more telling symbol is hard to come by."
• Għadek tiftakru lil Dorian Gray? is being staged at the Manoel Theatre on April 25-27 at 7.30 p.m. Tickets may be obtained by phone on 2124 6389 or by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt
Few authors have garnered the adulation, the persecution, the fame, the notoriety that Oscar Wilde did during his lifetime. Or the relentless posthumous spotlight on both his epigrammatic wit and chequered life. His comedies are a permanent fixture at the West End and also among amateur dramatic companies that have fallen under the spell of British drama which, bar Shakespeare, basically owes it all to a list of luminous Irish dramatists. This is possibly the greatest irony in British theatre, past and present. Irony interwoven with endless paradox is the quintessence of Wilde - the man who defined art as both utterly futile and absolutely necessary; the writer who derided critics, but pinned his writings on social, aesthetic and philosophical jibes.
Given its fixation with eternal youth and beauty and penned during the blatantly-decadent belle époque, The Picture of Dorian Gray can be regarded as the darker side of the famous comedies. Its cynicism makes unmissable under/overtones. Our manic obsession with the body beautiful and designer gear ironically makes this novel more relevant than in the late 19th century. Now, it's impossible to talk about Wilde's works without referring to his poseur persona and his addiction to living in the headlines. So my first question to Mr Cassar Darien zeroed into what dramatic/theatrical elements he found significant in the novel and which he reworked into the script. "This question merits not an article but a whole book. Cynicism/under/ overtones/witticisms... If you look up Wiki quote from Wikipedia there are 19 pages of such stuff attributed to all his work. Pages 4, 5, 6, 7 are devoted to quotes from the novel - the biggest chunk from any of his other works. The Picture of Dorian Gray is riddled with contradictions. I believe Oscar Wilde lived two lives. His public persona of cocky dandy; his secret life tortured by inner, especially sexual, confusion."
A neat division between the two unsurprisingly proved untenable in the long term. The bleakness of Wilde's last years transformed from social darling to social outcast can actually be seen as a foretold conclusion. Therefore, Wilde's humour is truly double-edged - incredibly funny and sad. The name, Dorian Gray, is instantly indicative of a split personality. "Capturing this sense of blur is crucial," Mr Cassar Darien states. "That such a dramatic novel by such a theatrical writer has, as far as I know, never been adapted to the stage adds another layer of irony because The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the classics in English literature. So this production speaks of a great deal of guts on the part of the director and his cast."
Adapting Wilde's only novel has long been brewing in Mr Cassar Darien's mind. "I've always been intrigued by Wilde. The novel seemed to suggest to me some very intriguing, not mainstream ideas. Meeting his only grandson who is something of a recluse was another spur. I tried to find out a good stage adaptation, but could find only one by John Osborne - The Look Back in Anger author. It never really worked for him. There are also four film adaptations. But then I always wanted to do my own which does take some liberties with the original."
Spilling the beans on these "liberties" will let the cat out of the bag, so I dug into what factors Mr Cassar Darien keeps well in mind during the process of morphing a novel for the stage. "Pick the bone of any dramatic element," is the immediate reply. "It's mostly one, very strong, very conflicting, situation. Then coax it into various fragments which will later, fingers-crossed, make up the sum total of the whole piece. Eliminate all secondary characters and work to an ideal cast of four, six are the very very max ...
"In this day and age (never mind the commercial considerations) it's not fair throwing more than six talking heads at an audience. This video-era just cannot take it."
Mr Cassar Darien does not work with a cast or director in mind. "My work is far from easy. For my 'live' theatre if possible I want an actor to say the lines, while walking on a tightrope, and juggling with plates ... I like the audience to eat its heart out; will he fall? Will he break a plate? Will he remember his lines? This element of risk-taking is what enhances the live element. The sweat and the gasping for breath at the end of a performance is what differentiate theatre from soaps, where everybody is always clean-shaven and the only strain seems to be the rolling of the retinas."
"Although the novel is semi-autobiographical, Wilde's contemporary image of gay martyr does not help because it tends to overshadow his inner demons fired by his fear of moral and artistic paralysis ... consequently total collapse."
Talk of Wilde's fears leads to his exploitation of the Faustian theme within the canvas of Dorian Gray. "This along with the element of the macabre makes Dorian Gray's story and his picture truly disturbing because it confronts us head-on with evil."
Is Mr Cassar Darien bothered about his adaptation being written off as a mere period/drawing room piece? "Possibly, had it been some anaemic restoration comedy. As for Dorian Gray, the plot and dialogue are far too powerful. All the media hype blasting the wonders of cosmetic surgery and image make-overs shows how we have sold our souls to commerce. Dorian Gray had a better chance of getting out of the net than we do!" Mr Cassar Darien affirms. This is why the most challenging aspect to project was "definitely" the constantly decaying canvas.
"A more telling symbol is hard to come by."
• Għadek tiftakru lil Dorian Gray? is being staged at the Manoel Theatre on April 25-27 at 7.30 p.m. Tickets may be obtained by phone on 2124 6389 or by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt