I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.

The Abbey Theatre presents Wilde’s iconic fable, especially commissioned from leading theatre-maker Neil Bartlett for the 2012 Dublin Theatre Festival.

A disturbing tale of a young man’s uncanny ability to remain both young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery, The Picture of Dorian Gray was considered proof of both Wilde’s genius and his perversion. His scandalous best-seller of 1891 was one of the most damning pieces of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.

This new staging of his black-hearted masterpiece brings literature’s most dangerous anti-hero back to contemporary theatrical life in Bartlett’s trademark visual, flamboyant style.

Neil Bartlett, one of Britain’s most acclaimed and original theatre-makers, returns to the Abbey Theatre following the success of the award-winning An Ideal Husband in 2008. A theatre radical, Neil Bartlett’s recent collaborations are at the forefront of international theatre making and include work with Complicite, Improbable, Lepage, Handspring (creators of Warhorse) and Artangel.

‘…Bartlett has a brilliantly contemporary understanding of Wilde’
The Irish Times

‘…an artist who can really change the way people feel’
The Observer

Please note: This play contains some strong language.

Assisted Performances
Sign language interpreted performance: Thursday 8 November
Audio described and captioned performance: Saturday 10 November
Matinee Club: Saturday 10 November