This September, the Regent Theatre’s grand stage will transform to host a full-scale ballet production dedicated to the life and writings of Oscar Wilde. World-famous choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has been commissioned to create Oscar for the Australian Ballet, a world-premiere production that intertwines Wilde’s biographical facts with his works of fiction to draw parallels between the artist and the art.
Wheeldon is the same choreographer who created the Australian Ballet’s much-loved production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but this is the first time he’s choreographed a work specially for the company. The composer for that production, Joby Talbot, has also come onboard for Oscar, after recently working on the feature film Wonka.
The ballet will explore Oscar Wilde’s life story, which saw him become one of London’s top literary figures before being convicted of gross indecency for homosexual acts and sentenced to two years hard labour (the maximum punishment at the time). Expect flamboyant costumes, high-drama and queer romance.
As well as drawing on Wilde’s penchant for lampooning his peers with thinly veiled fictionalised references, the ballet also draws inspiration from two of his most lauded works, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Nightingale and the Rose. Known for his plays and writings dripping with wit, Wilde’s writings also ultimately signalled the beginning of his downfall.
Oscar plays at the Regent Theatre from September 13-24. The production runs for just under two hours including a 20-minute intermission and tickets are on sale here.
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