The highly acclaimed Australian theatre show The Picture of Dorian Gray is headed to New York and will premiere on Broadway next year.
Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel, the show was created and devised by Kip Williams during his tenure as artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company.
Sarah Snook will reprise her role as Dorian Gray on Broadway next year. Credit: Charlie Gray
It is an extraordinary piece in which the star plays 26 roles. Eryn Jean Norvill starred in the show’s first run in 2020, with the subsequent Australian tour alternating Norvill with Nikki Shiels. Sarah Snook starred in the 14-week London season.
At times, the lead actor is filmed on stage by a cast of interchanging camera operators in precision-timed, choreographed moves. This becomes something of a dance, with live and pre-recorded footage woven together to create a revolutionary new style of theatre.
Sarah Snook in the London production of The Picture of Dorian Gray.Credit: Marc Brenner
Adding to her Emmy for playing Shiv Roy in Succession, Snook won an Olivier Award for her West End performance in the role. “It was a singular privilege to bring The Picture of Dorian Gray to life in London, and I am thrilled we will be able to share this astonishing production with audiences in New York,” she said.
“From Oscar Wilde’s timeless words to the masterful reinterpretation Kip Williams has created, this tale of virtue, corruption, vanity and repercussion is an electrifying journey for me as much as for the audiences, and I am filled with anticipation as we continue on this ambitious creative endeavour.”
According to Williams, the show draws on a range of visual references and cinematic inspirations, from Hitchcock films to Michel Gondry’s music videos with Radiohead and Kylie Minogue.
“For all the technology we use – Steadicams, flying LED screens, mobile phones – at its core, the show is motored by an ancient form of theatre, that of a single actor directly telling you a story. For the entire two hours of the show, you never lose contact with that actor and their sharing of the story,” he says.
