The Picture of Dorian Gray

Irish writer Oscar Wilde was renowned for his charm and extravagance, as well as for the aestheticism of both his work and his life. At the age of 34, he published The Happy Prince and Other Tales, which made him a well-known author. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, first printed in 1890, can also be said to be written in the form of a fairy tale. This time, however, its content is considerably darker... It is no surprise that its publication caused a scandal: people demanded that the book be banned and the author convicted of promoting an immoral lifestyle.

The creative team behind the production The Picture of Dorian Gray consists of renowned puppet-theatre artists whose previous work is already familiar to audiences of „Lėlės“: in 2014, a production created by G. Radvilavičiūtė together with set designer Renata Valčik, choreographer Sigita Mikalauskaitė and composer Rita Mačiliūnaitė won the Golden Stage Cross. It remains successfully in the theatre’s repertoire and is regularly invited to represent Lithuanian culture at international theatre festivals. The new production seems to continue exploring the themes begun in The Sandman: the duality of human personality and self-destruction.

“Looking at a painting, a person enters another time. Time expands. In a portrait, a person recognises themselves. Looking at a portrait is like looking in a mirror. A mirror gives a person the unique opportunity to see themselves, their face, their eyes, and makes dialogue with oneself possible. Looking outward, a person sees their inner self. Looking in a mirror, a person may find themselves in another world. And these two worlds can touch. Looking in a mirror, we can see what is inaccessible to our direct gaze. The depth of the mirror tells us that we can see much more, or see things quite differently, from the way we see them in our reality. A mirror is our personal portrait of the present. Today, people are surrounded by many mirrors—that is, reflective surfaces—from actual mirrors and windows to lakes and puddles, snowflakes, pieces of coal, and so on. They all create fissures in the visible world, in the fabric of objects; they are like windows into another world. But excessive focus on oneself and one’s physical appearance is a path to vanity, self-love, conceit, arrogance and egocentrism. Without love, loved ones and walking together, beauty and success mean nothing. Life is not pleasant when you are constantly looking at yourself. To this day, some indigenous tribes believe that a mirror can steal the soul.” — Production director Gintarė Radvilavičiūtė shares her thoughts.