Oscar Wilde's De Profundis

Overview

To many, playwright and poet Oscar Wilde is the man who realised the importance of being earnest and showed the world the picture of Dorian Gray. But he was also the author of a particularly scandalous letter, telling a former lover of his pains and regrets from his jail cell.

Wilde's famous correspondence was named De Profundis, which, aptly, is Latin for "from the depths". That's where his uncompromising account of his suffering and sexuality sprang from, and that's where Brian Lucas's brand new one-man adaption is certain to as well.

Such raw material can only inspire an equally explicit performance, in a contemporary theatre adaption of a classic literary work never before seen on stage. It may be based on Wilde's torment in 1897, delving into the ultimate tabloid fodder of the time; however, this bold and powerful piece speaks to issues of discrimination, inequality and public humiliation that remain strikingly relevant today.