The Picture Of Dorian Gray @ Barn Theatre Online

5 Stars

Joanna Lumley as Lady Narborough. The Picture Of Dorian Gray is a new online production from the Barn Theatre with many other theatres helping to co-produce the project, including my local and personal favourite theatre, the Oxford Playhouse. It pushes the boundary of the definition of online theatre with parts filmed on location at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, it utilises elements found in radio plays, films, documentaries as well as traditional methods seen in most online theatre productions.

It features an incomparable all-star cast, including Fionn Whitehead, known for his roles in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Dunkirk as the titular character, it also features such acting legends as Joanna Lumley and Sir Stephen Fry as well as Alfred Enoch, known for his roles in Harry Potter and most recently seen in the fantastic online production of What a Carve Up! produced by the same team as this production.

I thought that this production was absolutely fabulous with amazing performances from every single member of the small cast. It takes on Oscar Wilde’s story from a modern standpoint with a large focus on social media and how trying to look perfect can cost you everything. At first, you may think that this could be quite a cringeworthy take on this story by bringing it to a modern world where so many are obsessed with social media, but it is completely the opposite, and if anything, I preferred this to Wilde’s source material.

For anyone who is aware of the plot of this story, you may know that it deals with some sensitive and upsetting topics, but the way that this production deals with these topics is so appropriate.

The production quality of this piece is superb and much like the previous production of What a Carve Up!, it feels like it belongs on the homepage of Netflix. I think that Tamara Harvey the director of this project and Henry Filloux-Bennett the adapter of Wilde’s book do an amazing job here.

The story is told backwards, mostly through the viewpoint of Harry Wotton, portrayed by Alfred Enoch and Lady Narborough, portrayed by Joanna Lumley, we see the events of this story as a memory living in the mind of these two characters who are recanting this information to the interviewer played by Stephen Fry. I think this format works brilliantly to help the viewer really get into the minds of those who witnessed the events of the story.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray runs online until the 31st March, with tickets available at £12 including a digital programme from pictureofdoriangray.com

The ticket gives the viewer a 48-hour period to watch the show.