Direct from getting rave reviews at The Blue Room Theatre in Perth for Summer Nights 2011 and Melbourne_x0019_ s queer festival Midsumma, where it was billed as one of the top ten shows to see (Richard Watts, ArtsHub), De Profundis makes its SA premiere during the Adelaide Fringe Festival at The Tuxedo Cat. Oscar Wilde was one of the Victorian era_x0019_ s most well-known and notorious personalities. A writer, poet and propagator of the aesthetic movement; he entertained and scandalised society with his deadly wit, flamboyant dress and sparkling conversation. Wilde was also one of the most successful playwrights of his day, penning such comic masterpieces as The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. However, at the height of his fame, Wilde suffered a spectacular and unrelenting fall from grace. Caught in an eternal hatred between his lover and his lover_x0019_ s father, Wilde found himself embroiled in a sensational series of trials that eventuated in his two-year incarceration for _x0018_ acts of gross indecency_x0019_ , i.e. homosexuality! From within his prison cell he wrote one of the greatest ever love letters, De Profundis; a monumental 50,000 word _x0018_ symphony of sorrow_x0019_ which harrowingly traces Wilde_x0019_ s dramatic downfall as a result of his disastrous love affair. From the page onto the stage, X-Roads Collective_x0019_ s production re-imagines the imprisoned Wilde as legendary contemporary entertainer Oh So Wilde. Trapped in his own particular prison hell, Oh So Wilde must rise from the depths of despair and depression by spell-binding his inmates with a deliciously searing saga of love and tragedy. Herbu (Best Male Actor, Act Provocateur Solo Festival, London 2007) fuses a unique physicality, epic storytelling, poetic beauty and drag to create an experience that echoes the drama of the Ancient Greeks and celebrates the magical, Wildean values of imagination, invention and inconsistency. Dancing between the comic and the tragic, De Profundis is a modern and relevant theatrical portrait of the suffering of a man isolated behind his many masks. PRAISE FOR "DE PROFUNDIS": _x001C_ ...as physical theatre this outrageous portrayal is fresh, unexpected and vital....the play evokes all the heartache of a dangerous and absorbing love affair_x001D_ Joanna Gentilli, The West Australian _x001C_ The audience were mesmerised by Herbu_x0019_ s face and his purring intonations [he] truly captured the audience with his cheeky approach...An outstanding performance_x001D_ Gordon Johnston, Theatre Australia PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS WORK "QUEST: A TELL-TALE OF THE HEART": 'It's an absolute privilege to watch Herbu perform-this is one extremely talented actor to watch out for' - Simonne Michelle-Wells, Australian Stage 'The production benefits from some terrific staging innovations, thanks to sisters Brodie Maguire and Emma Caporn' - Varnya Bromilow, The West Australian
Fringe Vault Home
0 Comments