The Trials of Oscar Wilde Tours The UK From March

CO-WRITTEN BY THE FAMOUS WRITER’S GRANDSON, THE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE TOURS THE UK

The fascinating production, co-written by Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde’s own grandson, and John O’Connor tells of what actually happened during Wilde’s trials, drawing on the original transcripts

WEBSITE: europeanarts.co.uk

Only days after the celebrated opening of Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, he started legal proceedings against The Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel – an action which led to three scandalous trials that destroyed his career, wrecked his family and saw him sentenced to two years hard labour.

The play is adapted from the full transcript of the libel trial in April 1895 (recently discovered by Merlin Holland after 100 years), contemporary newspaper reports and eyewitness accounts. The Trials of Oscar Wilde enables us to see a full picture of the trials and their shocking aftermath. What happened at the Old Bailey and what did Wilde say? Was he harshly treated or the author of his own downfall? Using the actual words spoken in court, we can feel what it was like to be in the company of a flawed genius – as this less than ideal husband was tragically reduced to a man of no importance.

Co-writer O’Connor comments, Oscar Wilde is many people’s ideal dinner guest but it’s difficult to imagine how he actually spoke. However, thanks to the transcripts of the trials, we can hear Wilde’s true voice in all its exasperating brilliance. It’s exciting to discover that he did talk in perfectly formed epigrams and paradoxes but the Old Bailey was far too dangerous a place to do that. The stakes couldn’t have been higher. Wilde deflects, stumbles and feints like a boxer up against the ropes but he meets his match in the British Establishment. His wit is incomparable, his humanity a triumph but his tragedy makes him immortal.

This production shows Oscar Wilde fighting for his art as well as his life; we see his complexity, wit and deep humanity using the real facts and transcripts. Wilde’s grandson comments, Over the years, there have been a number of attempts to tell the story of my grandfather on stage but none of them has really managed to bring alive the drama of Oscar’s courtroom appearances. Using the actual words from the libel trial, and with a careful reconstruction of Wilde’s prosecution by the Crown for homosexuality, it’s a chance for audiences to see the real Oscar for the first time. The Trials of Oscar Wilde should be an obligatory part of every young person’s education to teach them the meaning of tolerance and, more than ever in today’s world, about the appalling consequences of blinkered homophobia.

This national tour of The Trials of Oscar Wilde will help to support the important work of the LGBT charity Stonewall in promoting equality. Although Wilde’s trial and imprisonment was 124 years ago, he was only officially pardoned in 2017. However, what happened to Wilde in 1895 is happening to LGBTQIA+ people all over the world today. Stonewall estimates that same-sex relationships are still illegal in 72 countries and in eight of those, they are punishable by death.

The Trials of Oscar Wilde is hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking. It sheds light on a genius who continues to fascinate us, as well as tapping into current concerns about celebrity trials and the criminalisation of homosexuality as equality takes one step forwards and two back. Wilde aficionados will love it – but the themes reverberate far wider (Entertainment Focus).

Performance Dates

25th – 30th March Theatre Royal Windsor 32 Thames Street, Windsor SL4 1PS

2nd – 6th April Greenwich Theatre Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES

9th – 10th April Brighton Pavilion 4/5 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton BN1 1EE

12th – 13th April Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE

14th April Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield Corporation Street, Chesterfield S41 7TX

17th – 18th April The Haymarket, Basingstoke Wote Street, Basingstoke RG21 7NW

20th April Middlesbrough Theatre The Avenue, Middlesbrough TS5 6SA

24th April Harrow Arts Centre 171 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, London HA5 4EA

25th – 27th April Theatre Royal, Winchester Jewry Street, Winchester SO23 8SB

8th May Key Theatre, Peterborough Embankment Road, Peterborough PE1 1EF

9th May Brewhouse, Taunton Coal Orchard, Taunton TA1 1JL

10th May Forest Arts Centre, New Milton Forest Arts, Old Milton Road, New Milton, BH25 6DS

11th May Theatre Severn Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury SY3 8FT

15th May Stantonbury Theatre, Milton Keynes Stantonbury, Milton Keynes MK14 6BN

16th May Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds Westgate Street, Bury Saint Edmunds IP33 1QR

17th May Stamford Arts Centre 27 St Mary’s Street, Stamford PE9 2DL

21st May Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells Church Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1JP

22nd May Chipping Norton Theatre 2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton OX7 5NL

23rd – 25th May Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Millbrook, Guildford GU1 3UX

28th – 29th May Dugdale Centre, Enfield 39 London Road, London, Enfield EN2 6DS

30th May Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham St Peter’s Hill, Grantham NG31 6PZ

31st May The Courtyard, Hereford The Courtyard, Edgar Street, Hereford HR4 9JR

1st June Waterside Arts Centre, Sale 1 Waterside, Sale M33 7ZF

Photo Credit: Emily Hyland