THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
The Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd St. Through May 6. (212) 727-2737.
AT last, it’s been done right. A novel has been brought to the stage with eerie force and poetic audacity.
Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” has been adapted and directed for the stage by Joe O’Byrne, and it emerges as a doomed search for authenticity amid the deserts of insincerity that were turn-of-the-century London.
Of course, O’Byrne is dealing with a story that is essentially kitsch – the painting of the socialite gets old while he remains as young and beautiful as in his prime.
Out of this lurid tale, O’Byrne has fashioned a kind of talking ballet about the impossibility of honesty in a morbid world. O’Byrne dispenses with realism – in this respect, bettering even Albert Lewin’s fine 1945 film. On an unadorned black stage, London society is enjoying its revels.
The main figures emerge: the Shadow, a creature of O’Byrne’s who guides us about this world; Lord Henry, a voice of cynicism and pleasure; Basil, a skilled artist who will play an unwilling part in the strange drama. Into their silly and cruel world comes Dorian Gray, a young man of uncertain background but certain beauty.
I have never seen (or read) the tale so clearly or scarily told. The cast is excellently in the spirit. Young Crispin Freeman makes a persuasive Dorian Gray; Tertia Lynch brings a fiery but sad beauty to the trapped Sybil.
But central credit goes to O’Byrne, who has created something truly, teasingly memorable.