Review: IMMERSIVE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, CRYPT

Immersive Picture Of Dorian Gray will give Midnight Circle Productions' their debut opening night but it is not their first production. A previous effort called Immersive Dracula sold out and was all ready to open in March 2020 before the pandemic intervened and the run was cancelled. A revival later that year sold out again and, sadly, was also canned when the second lockdown was announced. A third and final attempt to open in February 2021 was thwarted by (yes, you guessed it) another lockdown. Will they have better luck this time around?

Their second and current show is being launched in a relatively new venue dedicated to immersive productions. Presented and run by Parabolic Theatre, CRYPT is a converted performance space under St Peter's Church in Bethnal Green. The musty smell is a wistful reminder of the early days of Waterloo's Old Vic Tunnels (now re-opened as The Vaults); its exposed brickwork and low doorways help submerge us into the sights and smells of 19th century London.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray was a scandalous work in its time. First released as a novella in 1890, the longer final version was released the following year with the homoerotic elements severely toned down. Even so, at his 1895 trial for gross indecency, parts of the book were quoted by the prosecution. Perhaps warned off by the experience, it remains the only complete novel by Wilde.

We first meet the child-like Dorian Gray at the public reveal of his portrait, a painting which will forever change his life. The artist Basil Hallward is smitten with his subject while, looking on, their cynical friend Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton tells the impossibly handsome young man that, to make the most of his good looks while he has them, he must dedicate his life to pure hedonism. Gray dismisses this view initially but, after a failed love affair with actress Sybil Vane, decries that his looks will fade while his portrait will stay the same and makes a devil's bargain for the situation to be reversed. The rash move is the beginning of his moral corruption and has tragic consequences for his friends.

As with most immersive shows, the action is spread across different areas including Sybil's theatre, Harry's living room and Basil's studio. Each is carefully crafted to give plot clues and character insights. In the theatre, there are posters of contemporary productions and venues like the horrifying Grand Guignol; elsewhere, we read handwritten messages between the characters ("you've made your bed, now lie in it. Preferably with your wife" says one).

Expect to be very much up close and personal with the cast on occasion and - even though you can choose your distance - the intensity of most scenes is such that you are drawn into the drama, like it or not. As Dorian, Piers Mackenzie gives a wonderfully elastic performance, his face twisting from doe-eyed innocence to dark and malicious over the course of the evening. Richard Watkins' Basil Hallward is portrayed as a cautiously camp counsellor, ready with advice and kind words for his favourite subject.

Niamh Handley-Vaughan's Sybil Vane is the tragic figure upon which this story pivots and the rise and fall of her relationship with Dorian is carried off with real feeling. Harry Harding cuts a marvellously malevolent figure in his three-piece wool suit, expertly throwing out many of Wilde's brilliant bon mots like poisonous daggers.

Director Nicholas Benjamin inserts himself into the cast as Mister B, barkeeper and the one who strikes Dorian Gray's devilish bargain. He also acts as a psychopomp of sorts, throwing in commentary on the events and occasionally nudging us from one room to another. Benjamin keeps faith with the thrust with the original story with the most major deviations coming in the final third; we're not sure if Oscar would be wild about his changes but, if anything, they are sensible and mature choices that make sense in the intimate CRYPT space.

As immersive productions go, there is plenty to commend here. It has the friendly feel and well-lit environments of Phantom Peak, with enough detail and drama to keep the fanatics of Punchdrunk happy. We had some one-to-ones with the characters when we arrived, including some delightful banter with Watkins and the highly charming Nadia Lamin as Harry's mistreated wife. Nick White's musical arrangements and the attention paid to the physical environment serve as superbly liminal effects.

By deciding to have parts of the play taking place concurrently in different rooms, this introduces the classic dilemma of immersive dramas. Do we follow Dorian into Harry's salon to see how his soul becomes twisted and perverted? Or do we join Sybil and her brother James as they practice for their big opening night? Or just hang out in the bar between them and earwig both scenes?

It is impossible to see it every aspect of Dorian Gray on one visit and, while some who prefer more traditional theatre might find this frustrating, there is more than enough to enjoy no matter what you decide to watch.

Immersive Picture of Dorian Gray continues until 29 April.

Photo Credit: Jan-Sebastian Dreyer

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