In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Oscar Wilde wrote: “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
The same might apply to contemporary musical adaptations of well-known literary classics where the book and the score are key to the success of the creative endeavour. Sadly, in Dorian the Musical, the book and the score are just too badly written to engage the audience.
The show is the latest offering from theatre company Ruby in the Dust. Written and directed by Linnie Reedman, with music and lyrics by Joe Evans, the company reframe Wilde’s deeply philosophical take on the relationship between art, life and morality, as a rock musical. In their take, Dorian becomes a young rock star struggling with the pressures of fame and social media.
