Dorian
by Darryl Pinckney and Robert Wilson, based on motives by Oscar Wilde
Costumes by Jacques Reynaud; Dramaturgy by Konrad Kuhn
Co-Production of Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, National Kaunas Drama Theater and Staatsschauspiel Dresden
German Première on June 9, 2022 at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Germany
Lithuanian Première on October 1, 2022 at the National Drama Theater, Kaunas, Lithuania
After The Sandman and Jungle Book (German version), Dorian is Robert Wilson’s third creation at the iconic Schauspielhaus theater in Düsseldorf. The German version of Darryl Pinckney’s monologue, which is inspired by three stories—of Francis Bacon, Dorian Gray and Oscar Wilde—is performed by Christian Friedel, who was the protagonist Nathaniel in The Sandman; in the Lithuanian version, premièred in Kaunas, European Cultural Capital 2022, Dorian is performed by two distinguished actors, Dainius Svobonas and Mantas Zemleckas.
Prologue: A young man breaks into a studio, unaware of what it is or to whom it belongs. He hides against the wall, listening to determine whether or not he has been pursued, or if his pursuers have gone by. He stands up to peer out the window, dodging lights hunting in the area. Eventually, the threat of capture passes. His pockets are filled with jewels.
Part 1: Dorian examines the room into which he has fallen, going confidently from object to object. He becomes aware that he is not alone. Someone has been watching him. It is Fate, but is it his or someone else’s or is there a difference? Instead of calling his household or the authorities, the painter asks Dorian to sit for him. Dorian assents, preparing the chair and seating himself as on a throne. He ignores the dais. He takes out rings and places them on his fingers. The painter is dead. How?
Part 2: Dorian is an ecstatic star. Lights flash. He is talking to journalists and to audiences, dressing and undressing, trying on smoking jackets, as though at a fitting. He dances on and off the dais, he sings. He plays with chests of treasure. Periodically, he interrupts himself and looks in secret under a sheet.
Part 3: Dorian, disguised as a priest, dressed in a cassock, is talking to his bound and chained portrait, while digging a grave. His rosary beads fall scatter. His portrait breaks free and they struggle above the pit. Each trying to throw the other in.
Epilogue: A survivor speaks one line.
—Darryl Pinckney