ED2012 3/5 Reviews ED2012 Theatre Reviews

The Picture Of Dorian Gray (Pregnant Fish Theatre Company / PBH’s Free Fringe)

By | Published on Friday 31 August 2012

It is a rich irony that a show about culture and beauty is performed in such a horrible venue, an abandoned shop stinking of fast food. Although their performance ensures we forget this, Pregnant Fish Theatre Company have set themselves an even harder task: a new musical version of Wilde’s novel with no stage. Cleverly they employ a mirror for the painting, and use the actors all the time, including as scenery and narrators. It’s all quite impressive, though some of the cast deliver excessively caricatured performances, which at times results in a loss of both tragedy and wit. The songs, meanwhile, are good musical numbers, but some of the solos and duets seem a little weak. Maybe the problem here is that too many things are being forced together – stale chips and Wilde arguably complement each other as well as ensemble numbers and languid wit.

Princes Mall, 19-25 Aug, 6.00pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Lia Sanders]



READ MORE ABOUT: |