Following a 43-date UK Tour and sell-out run at St James Theatre, European Arts Company is delighted to announce that The Trials of Oscar Wilde is transferring to Trafalgar Studios for a strictly limited four-week run.
The production will open on Monday 13th October, in celebration of Oscar Wilde’s 160th birthday that same week, and will run until Saturday 8th November. A special Birthday Gala performance will take place on Thursday 16th October at 7.45pm (Oscar’s Birthday) with further details to be announced soon.
Thursday 14 February 1895 was the triumphant opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest and the zenith of Oscar Wilde’s career. Less than 100 days later, he found himself a common prisoner and sentenced to two years hard labour. But what happened during the trials and what did Wilde say? Was he harshly treated or the author of his own downfall? Using the actual words spoken in court, we can feel what it was like to be in the company of a flawed genius – as this less than ideal husband was tragically reduced to a man of no importance.
The Trials of Oscar Wilde has been co-written by John O’Connor and Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde’s grandson, whom The Chap interviewed recently for publication in our next edition. Mr Holland says: “Over the years, there have been a number of attempts to tell the story of my grandfather on stage but none of them have really managed to bring alive the drama of Oscar’s courtroom appearances. Using the actual words from the libel trial, recently discovered more than a hundred years after the event, and with a careful reconstruction of Wilde’s prosecution by the Crown for homosexuality, it’s a chance for audiences to see the real Oscar for the first time. This production shows him fighting for his art as well as his life and we get a real sense of Oscar’s intellect at full stretch – his complexity, wit and deep humanity.”
Trafalgar Studios, 2-14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY
13th October–8th November 2014
Evening Performances: Monday–Saturday at 7.45pm
Matinees: Thursday and Saturday at 3.00pm
ATG Tickets: 0844 871 7632
Ticketmaster: 0844 847 2345
www.atgtickets.com
