Who am I when no one is watching? And who can I be when everyone sees me? Dorian Gray is young, handsome and desirable. His looks open doors for him, earn him recognition, protect him. Anything that disturbs this image – guilt, desire, age – disappears. It all goes into a painting that no one is allowed to see. This painting depicts what Dorian doesn't want to show. He remains flawless on the outside, but inside he's falling apart.
Oscar Wilde's novel portrays a society that only tolerates what looks beautiful. Deviation is only permitted if it disguises itself attractively, remains ambiguous. Anyone who wants to belong learns to fit in, anyone who desires something different learns to hide.
Dorian's story is not a distant Victorian fairy tale. These days contradictions disappear in numbers, profiles and market value. We smooth out our biographies, filter emotions, because: being visible means being judged, being invisible means disappearing. How do we live with the gap between our own desires and our own image?
Norwegian-Finnish director Heiki Riipinen, former participant in the international young directors programme WORX at the Berliner Ensemble, brings "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to the stage as a modern mythical play. Exploring the relationships between desire and control, between self-perfection and self-loss, he and his team ask: what does it cost to be yourself?
- Max Gindorff Dorian Gray
- Gabriel Schneider Lord Henry
- Amal Keller Sibyll Vane / James Vane / Hetty / Oscar Wilde
- Paul Zichner Basil Hallward / Alan Campbell / Sir Geoffrey
- Heiki Riipinen Regie
- Ingrid Tønder Bühne
- Louise-Fee Nitschke Kostüm
- Amund Ulvestad Musik
- Hans Fründt, Robert Matysiak Licht
- Johannes Nölting Dramaturgie
