Dorian Gray Naked

The title of this one-man musical gave the audience a high expectation of seeing a fair bit of the birthday suit of Blake Appelquist. The posters plastered all over Oxford Street,  in the lead up to Mardis Gras, were hardly subtle.

Indeed, the moment of greatest dramatic tension was when the genetically blessed star looked poised to expose all. Sitting in the very cosy middle floor of the Limelight theatre, in close proximity to the star, the Director/Writer Melvyn Morrow left a little to the imagination.

My only quibble with the look of the piece was the odd combination of Victorian dressing gown and 2019 Aussie bum undies. Wouldn’t Oscar Wilde have worn boxer shorts?

Lest you get the wrong impression, most of the night was not focussed on matters of flesh but a clever exploration of an idea – what if Dorian Gray, the young man dreamt up by Oscar Wilde, was real? What would his back story be?

In Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the central character remains eternally young whilst his portrait ages.

The first part of the musical deals with Dorian as a young man, coming to terms with his sexuality, dealing with a draconian school system and as a lover of Oscar Wilde.

Later his character marries and has children. The musical also touches on the infamous trial of Oscar Wilde – whose presence is illustrated by braces and a scarf.

Overall the production came across as a series of sketches on the theme rather than having a satisfying overarching narrative.

A highlight was the sparkling music of composer Dion Condack. He also played the grand piano and occasionally joined Dorian in duets. He rose to the challenge of composing music to songs with titles as diverse as “In my tight little Aussie bum jocks”, “Erotomania”, “Beautiful Confusion”, “Posing” and “Being God”.

Appelquist managed the smorgasbord of musical ideas with aplomb. It was a playful and entertaining evening.

David Spicer

Photographer: Clare Hawley