“The Picture Of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton

This is the first offering from Blind Eye Productions and just by looking down the cast list in the programme, you are almost guaranteed that this production is going to be a big success because the cast and technical crew are some of the cream of Nottingham and Derby’s local acting talents.

Gray is literally a blank canvas for others to create their own images of masterpiece. In order for the devilishly handsome Gray to keep so young and beautiful, he makes a Faustian pact after Basil Hallwood paints his portrait. Gray hides the portrait away because in order to remain the Prince Charming of society, his portrait bears the ageing process and that would cause too many questions.

Beauty is only skin deep and that beauty allows Gray to take advantage of all that is on offer. He becomes selfish and arrogant, and even dumps the young actress Sybil who he has fallen for. He loves her acting but when she gives a poor performance, She was only acting in the first place to find real love,and because she has, or thinks she has found the love of her life, she then decides to end her life. Her younger brother James Vane, years after then decides to hunt for her Prince Charming to get revenge, but could this young man he sees really be her late sister’s lover?

Tragedy follows Gray around and he can only see one way out of this terrible circle, by destroying the painting, but has Gray really forgotten that pact he made?

I was once told that the more menacing and dangerous a character, the quieter he speaks, and I would have liked to have heard more light and shade with Gray's speeches, especially in the second act when his arrogance kicked in. There are parts of the script that could have been delivered with a quieter, more menacing tone.

Josh Hayes is perfectly cast as Gray though. He is devilishly good looking and he has great charisma and stage presence and you can tell that he knows how to deliver a line to get an impact. His build up of Gray was done well and you really get to feel that you know Gray by the end of Act One, only for the greed and arrogance to take hold in Act Two.

Meng Khaw, as Lord Henry Wotton is his usual controlled and relaxed performer, which again is a perfect casting for this role.

Chris Mercer is the painter who creates the portrait, Basil Hallward. Basil delivers a brilliantly passionate speech in the second act, explaining why he did not want to exhibit the painting in Paris.

Holly Turner plays Gray's love, Sybil. A lovely incite to her acting skills is when she performs the first "Romeo and Juliet". You can see her performing Shakespeare if this little taster is a sample of what she can do.

A supporting cast made up of some fine local actors, Gill Cook (Lady Agatha), Bertie Black (Mr Isaacs), Ryan Thomson (James Vane), Marcia Wood (Lady Henry), Lindsey Parr (Mrs Vane), Adam Chapman (Mr Hubbard/gamekeeper), Danielle Rodgers (Mrs Leaf/Opium seller/Duchess Harley), Courtney Kelham-Giddy (Alan Campbell), Sarah Shields (Lady Monmouth), Beth Hinchliffe (Hetty Morton) and last but not least Frazer Stanko (Adrian Singleton/ The Portrait).

I thought some of the accents needed a bit more work as they seemed to wander a bit.

I also thought that maybe some incidental music could have been played during the black outs when the scenes were being changed, just so that the audience were left to chat among themselves, but I must admit, the scene changes were done well and timely.

With the portrait, I think that maybe a frame around Frazer to make him stand out as a portrait, but I realise that these shows aren't cheap to produce and every penny needs to be accounted for.

There were times when you could see the backstage crew setting up behind where the portrait was as the cover was not covering the space, but I also realise that this was the first night and speed and nerves can affect any set of actors, but it's just an observation.

The set, designed by Zachary McCormack, was wonderful with its' many picture frames and I loved the simplicity of the look.

Directed by John Gill, who also helped design the set and designed the costumes. John also designed the programme, which is worth buying for the wonderful glossy pictures of the cast by Gavin Mawditt and Stephanie Timbol.

The sound design (Paige Shaw and Meng Khaw) and the lighting design Paige Shaw and Chris Mercer) added to the whole atmosphere of Victorian London.

I must also mention the wonderful hair and make up by Emma Berry.

Adapted by Merlin Holland and John O Connor, at times it felt like there were bits missing which may have built up a bit of a back story for some of the minor characters, I also thought that some of the pauses in some of the speeches were sometimes a second or two too long and could be tighter. That said the production is one where you get your money's worth because it lasts just under three hours.

I know that I am being very picky with my criticisms here, but I also know that this cast and technical crew have put a lot of hard work into making this show a success, and they are perfectionists, especially John Gill, and I recognise this.

This is the first production by Blind Eye Productions and a solid foundation for their 2019 shows. I certainly enjoyed it.

Being an Oscar Wilde fan, I was bound to enjoy this production and they did it good service, although I feel that the audience may have missed quite a few of the witty lines from Wilde as I found myself sniggering solo at much of the classic Wildean script.

“The Picture Of Dorian Gray” is only a limited run and closes on Thursday 15 November 2018.