★★½

“George Renshaw as Harry Wotton gives a show stealing solo performance”

Oscar Wilde seems to be having a bit of a moment. There is a production of The Importance of Being Earnest upcoming at the National Theatre, and The Picture of Dorian Gray was recently staged with Succession star Sarah Snook bagging an Olivier for her performance. Now the Southwark Playhouse is putting on a musical adaptation of Dorian Gray.

In this version, with book and direction by Linnie Reedman and music & lyrics by Joe Evans, Dorian is an overnight online sensation, taken in by the music industry who promise him his youthful beauty can live forever through his music. There are some oblique references to the 27 club of famous musicians who died young and versions of Wilde’s original characters who inadvertently guide Dorian towards his eventual end.

The main challenge with this adaptation is that, conceptually, it just doesn’t work. A musical set in the modern era, that purports to explore how social media affects our perception of beauty can’t just throw in a couple of references to Dorian having gone viral on YouTube, cocaine fuelled industry parties, or things being ‘all over the newspapers… and also social media’. Equally the costume and set (Isabella Van Braeckel), are more Victorian gothic than modern, although the set is successfully reminiscent of a recording studio – multiple Moroccan carpets strewn across the floor, LPs and guitars on the walls and piled with books and bric-a-brac. The story needs greater integration of the contemporary themes it claims to explore in the adaptation to pull it off – or else a straight 19th century adaptation would do.

More heinously though, to evoke the spirits of some of rock and pops greatest talents – Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse – the music and lyrics have got to attempt to match. At a minimum, the music has to lean more ‘pop’ than musical theatre. But all the music is drab and dull, seemingly inspired more by the gothic musicals Phantom of the Opera or Sweeney Todd, but without any of the musicality or lyricism of Lloyd-Weber or Sondheim.

The casting unfortunately doesn’t help matters. Alfie Friedman as Dorian Gray has a very musical theatre voice, with plenty of vibrato, opening the show with a number about living forever that has the potential for a pop-rock ballad inspired by Queen’s, but is instead memorable only in its blandness. There are some exceptions of course. George Renshaw as Harry Wotton gives a show stealing solo performance of Where the Yellow Roses Grow, a highlight of the second act with his intelligent interpretation of the tune. Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson and Megan Hill as Sybil/Fabian Vane are also strong vocalists and being much needed comic relief, particularly in the second act.

Overall, Dorian: The Musical gives sixth-form production energy due to the safe but bland musical numbers, some odd directorial choices, and the half-baked ‘contemporary’ setting. Saved from the abyss by some stand out performances, including a superb guitar solo from a member of the live band, this piece will most appeal to Wilde superfans rather than the masses.

CLOSER TO HEAVEN at the Turbine Theatre

★★★★

“unashamed fun, energised performances and a true, light-hearted celebration of decadence”

Nearly a quarter of a century on from its premiere at The Arts Theatre, Jonathan Harvey’s “Closer to Heaven”, with music from the Pet Shop Boys, is having another stab at getting closer to its goal. Although we’re still not quite sure what that is. So, for the time being it is best to take it at its superficial face value and plump for the sheer entertainment value it provides. It has that in abundance. Simon Hardwick’s revival splashes it over the gossamer-thin text in sexy swathes of flamboyance and camp panache. Designer David Shields has transformed the Turbine Theatre’s space into Vic’s club (surely soon to become a landmark as celebrated as ‘Rick’s Café’), complete with cabaret tables, haze, ultraviolet neon and dancing boys. We are closer to Heaven – the nightclub – than ever before.

Mistress of ceremonies is Billie Trix; a washed-up former icon, afraid to look in the mirror. Although we don’t quite understand why – Frances Ruffelle looks pretty damn good, and sounds sensational when she sings. The purity and emotion shines through, particularly in her solo numbers such as the evocative ‘Friendly Fire’ that opens the second act. She loses a touch of her command when she dips into dialogue, with a voice ravaged by years of abuse and an accent that has clearly lost its way. The owner of the club has a similarly tenuous hold on the proceedings. Filled with as many regrets, Kurt Kansley’s Vic is a bruiser with a heart of gold; a gay man trapped in a divorced father’s body, trying to make amends with a daughter who yearns for somebody to call Dad. His estranged daughter, Shell, is remarkably familiar with Vic’s entourage for someone who has just walked into his life after fifteen years, but we can overlook these discrepancies. Courtney Bowman’s standout performance lifts her character from the shallow text like the pages of a technicolour pop-up book that fold out into three dimensions.

A love story trickles away as a sub plot. Shell falls for newcomer Dave (Glenn Adamson). Or rather ‘Straight Dave’ as he is known – a nickname that is plainly in breach of the Sale of Goods Act. Dave falls for local drug dealer, Mile End Lee (Connor Carson). A sticky end all round is unavoidable. Adamson’s Dave is a wannabe singer and dancer whose integrity is as ill-fitting as a tight pair of shorts, while Carson’s angelic looks fail to betray any notion of his lifestyle. Of course, they ‘get it on’, to the chagrin of Shell, but the sparks don’t quite fly. And the repercussions trigger shoulder-shrugs rather than shockwaves of emotion.

There are moments of humour, with choice one-liners shared among the cast. David Muscat’s slippery music mogul, Bob Saunders, devours the clichés with relish and it’s difficult to tell whether he is choking on the words or his tongue in his cheek. But the whole company are having a ball. Especially Ruffelle, whose gleeful, natural exuberance shines brighter, warmer and more dazzling than the cool neon and swinging LED beams of light.

The music is everything you would expect of the Pet Shop Boys, but with more theatricality and a refreshing dynamic that is absent from their chart toppers. The score carries the show, along with the impeccable vocal performances. It is a beautifully dressed show, and slickly choreographed by Christopher Tendai. The ensemble are as integral as the leads, and just as watchable. If the performers are the stars, the costumes are the superstars.

We feel uplifted by the time we reach curtain call, which is surprising given the schmaltzy, message-heavy finale that wants to pull us under like a bed of quicksand. Yet we feel high. Not quite as high as the ketamine-fuelled characters onstage, mind, but at least we’ve remained this side of the law. Vic’s club is a place we’d like to frequent when looking for unashamed fun, energised performances and a true, light-hearted celebration of decadence. Well worth getting close to.

DORIAN: THE MUSICAL at Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★½

“George Renshaw as Harry Wotton gives a show stealing solo performance”

DORIAN: THE MUSICAL at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 10th July 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Danny Kaan

More shows reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

DORIAN

DORIAN

CLOSER TO HEAVEN at the Turbine Theatre

★★★★

“unashamed fun, energised performances and a true, light-hearted celebration of decadence”

CLOSER TO HEAVEN at the Turbine Theatre

Reviewed on 5th June 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

Previously reviewed at this venue:

CLOSER TO HEAVEN

CLOSER TO HEAVEN