Unbeknownst to the vast majority of locals, Lord Alfred Douglas, better known as Bosie and even better known as Oscar Wilde’s lover, is buried opposite the McDonald’s in the town where I grew up. Last time I visited, his grave was remarkable only for a small black-and-white photo of him and a little ceramic planter, covered in rainbow stripes and patterned like a pair of wellington boots. written by David Hare and directed by Melania Hamilton, traces how Bosie went from the fast-living, notorious decadent to the man buried beneath that unknown, unvisited grave.
It follows the steady decline in fortune faced by both Douglas and Wilde after Wilde was brought to trial for his homosexuality. “The organic staging is characteristic of the lightness of touch deployed throughout this production” Staged in the Old Divinity School’s Lightfoot Room, the play offers up a voyeuristic look at the pain, politics and people behind the infamous scandal. The room is lit only by the overhead fluorescents and the open windows, leaving the actors with nowhere to hide – not that they need it.
The staging is simple but beautiful: a bed surrounded by a litter of bottles and books, framed by the gorgeous wooden beams of the room; due to the lack of wings, actors appear and disappear into the corridor behind the audience, making the space bustle with life. The beautiful live piano accompaniment is subtle and never intrusive, and was complemented beautifully by the faint sound of the city c.