VIU Theatre Tackles Classic Victorian Horror Novel The Picture of Dorian Gray

VIU’s Theatre Department is proud to present a new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray by local playwright. Miranda Lum, left, who plays Dorian Gray, and Alexander Baliński, who plays the Picture, rehearse in the Malaspina Theatre.

February 22, 2017 - 12:00pm

Comox Valley-based playwright Robinson Wilson wrote a new adaptation of the famous novel by Oscar Wilde for the Theatre Department’s spring production 


Join Vancouver Island University (VIU) students and community members in an exploration of society’s obsession with exterior beauty and what sometimes lies beneath during the Theatre Department’s spring play in March.


The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical horror novel by Victorian writer Oscar Wilde. In the novel, Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man who serves as a muse for a painter. Dorian is convinced by the painter’s friend that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Upset by the knowledge that his beauty will fade with time, Dorian later expresses his desire to sell his soul in order to remain young and beautiful while the picture the painter made of him grows old instead. The wish is granted and as Dorian pursues a hedonistic lifestyle filled with self-indulgence and debauchery, he remains young and beautiful, while his picture ages and becomes more deformed with every sin.


Robinson Wilson, a playwright and theatre artist from the Comox Valley as well as a VIU Technical Theatre program alumnus, wrote an adaptation of Wilde’s story specifically for the VIU Theatre Department’s spring production. He sees a lot of parallels between present society and the Victorians.


“It’s about a narcissistic society obsessed with appearances,” says Wilson. “I see many parallels between then and now. For example, the Victorians would have loved to selfie themselves. And at the core of the book, there are some very traumatic interactions that are almost word-for-word what you see happening every day.”


Wilson’s adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray is unique in that he’s made the picture a character in the play.


“The Picture is this amazing avenue for dispensing Wilde’s thoughts in a way that our audience can really grasp,” he explains. “The Picture gets to say some horrible things in the play. As artists we have a duty to explore the nasty, dark places, what drives people to do what they do.”


Miranda Lum, a second-year Theatre Diploma student who plays Dorian Gray, says with classic stories like this one, people are already familiar with the story line and have certain expectations about what’s going to happen. She’s looking forward to surprising audiences.


“Some of the stuff we’re doing will defy those expectations,” she says, adding that the role is a new challenge for her because she gets to play a character she feels she has little in common with. “It’s the type of character I never really considered playing – right now I am studying the manipulative tactics Dorian used to persuade people to do what he wanted, such as gaslighting and misdirection. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”


Gothic horror novels are right up Alexander Baliński’s alley – a first-year Theatre Diploma student, who plays the Picture. “The idea that the portrait could be a character is really exciting for me. Anyone who likes the darker characters with a bit of spice to them will enjoy this play.”


What’s exciting about this production of The Picture of Dorian Gray for Leon Potter, Chair of the Theatre Department, is that there are some community members who are part of the 12-member cast. The audience can also look forward to a very spooky, creative set that Potter designed and Theatre students are building.


“It’s very dark, it’s very creepy – it’s going to be a riot!” says Potter. “With it being our 40th anniversary, we wanted to celebrate by tackling a classic tale, which as a bonus has gotten a bit of a facelift because it’s a brand-new adaptation.”


A side bonus of Wilson coming to VIU to direct the spring play is that he is also offering a directed studies course in stage combat – Wilson has taught fight choreography throughout Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and there are some fight scenes in the play that students need to prepare for.


The Theatre Department is also using the spring production to do a final push for the Encore fundraising campaign to revitalize the Malaspina Theatre. The campaign, launched last spring, raised enough money to replace the seats in the theatre and renovate the lobby area, but there are a few other upgrades still on the wish list, including improving the sound system and lighting in the lobby, and installing livestreaming technologies in the Theatre, says Potter.


“Thanks to the upgrades we’ve completed so far, we’ve been able to almost double the number of bookings the Theatre has had, and the lobby is being used as its own venue now,” he says. “These further upgrades would make the Malaspina Theatre an even more attractive venue.”


A donation of $300 gets you a customized plaque on a seat in the theatre. All donors will be listed on the donor wall in the lobby as well. Visit Encore to learn more.


The Picture of Dorian Gray runs March 1 – 4 and March 7 – 11 in VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310) starting at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, except on Wednesday, March 1, which is pay what you can day. Visit the Theatre website for more details.


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MEDIA CONTACT:


Jenn McGarrigle, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University


P: 250.740.6559 | C: 250.619.6860 | E: jenn.mcgarrigle@viu.ca | T: @VIUNews



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