Editorial Journal of John Cooper on Oscar Wilde
To mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Christine Nelson, in conversation with Philip Palmer, recalls one of the British Library’s most significant transatlantic partnerships: the exhibition Oscar Wilde: A Life in Six Acts, which originated in London and opened at the Morgan Library in New York in September 2001.
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Whitehouse vs. The BBC
Perversely Topical
No, not that White House. But still topical because, coincidentally, Merlin Holland’s new book, Oscar Wilde, The Legacy of a Scandal, tells of a spat between another Whitehouse and the BBC—and a group of perverse individuals.
Continue reading “End of the Innocence”
‘After Oscar’ by Merlin Holland
Reading Between the Lies1
Merlin Holland’s new retrospective of the societal and family legacy of Oscar Wilde has been over two decades in the making—which is understandable given the research necessary to counter what Holland describes as “…one of the longest continuous acts of hypocrisy in British history.”
The result is a historical accounting that alternates between biography and autobiography into a 700 page feat of storytelling.
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Oscar Wilde On Dress
Now in a New Updated and Expanded Artisan Edition.
www.oscarwildeondress.com
Back in 2012 I rediscovered Oscar Wilde’s essay “The Philosophy of Dress” and published it the following year in a limited hardback bibliophile edition. That publication represented the essay’s first appearance in book form, and the first posthumous release of a lost work by Wilde.
I am now pleased to introduce the book in an updated and expanded softcover artisan edition.
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Sarah Snook Wins The Tony Award
The Picture of Dorian Gray’ on Broadway
As widely expected, and as prefaced in my review of the play, Sarah Snook tonight received the Tony Award for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play’—for her remarkable performance in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ on Broadway
A Literary Review
The Tony Awards for excellence in Broadway Theatre were announced last week, and it was pleasing to see an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray among the nominees.
The production is currently enjoying a limited engagement at Music Box theatre on W 45th St. in New York, after transferring from a successful run in London’s West End where it won two Olivier Awards. The Tonys are Broadway’s equivalent awards and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ received six nominations—including Best Performance by an Actress (Sarah Snook), and Best Direction (Kip Williams).
It is a truly remarkable staging of the work, and as a segue into what makes it remarkable, it is worth alluding to a little known Oscar Wilde-related parallel in the history of the Tony Awards.
Continue reading “Playing to the Camera”
Oscar Wilde Meets Pope Leo XIII
—Spring, 1900—
In the Spring of 1900, Oscar Wilde arrived at the Vatican, and like any tourist he had his photograph taken. He was on a Roman holiday to spend a little time with friends—but, as it turned out, he spent a lot of time with the Pope.
Wilde was no stranger to the Vatican. In April 1877 as he was returning from a tour of Greece with his Trinity College tutor, the Rev. John Mahaffy, when his friend David Hunter-Blair arranged an audience for him with the then Pope Pius IX.
23 years later in 1900, again in April, and just seven months before he died, Oscar met the current pontiff—this time the aging Pope Leo XIII.1
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TWO NEW OSCAR WILDE PRODUCTIONS
Dorian Gray and Salome on Broadway
Coming to Broadway in New York this Spring are two new productions of Oscar Wilde works—and each for a limited time only.
The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Music Box Theatre, and Salome at The Metropolitan Opera.
See below for details.
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The AI Oscar Wilde
From the Mystery Scoop Channel
The series History Brought to Life on You Tube’s Mystery Scoop channel uses the power of AI technology to turn a single still image into stunning animations for an immersive glimpse into history—it is a labor of love that demands immense effort, creativity, and talent to bring each figure to life.
I have been watching the impressive series of historical characters and finally Oscar Wilde has arrived in Volume 11.
Continue reading “Oscar Brought To Life”
All statues are sculpted, but not all sculptures are statues.
A bronze bust titled ‘The Head of Oscar Wilde’ was installed recently on Dovehouse Green—a small London park not far from where Wilde lived in Tite Street, Chelsea,
It is a posthumous work by the Scottish sculptor and graphic artist, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924—2005), made possible by a charitable foundation to mark the centenary of his birth, and its unveiling was also timed appropriately to occur on Oscar Wilde’s birthday.
The physical configuration of the piece renders our man of letters as a fallen and fractured figure. Metaphor this may be—but, absent a meaningful reading, its composition is inclined to suggest itself, ironically, as a symbol of divided opinion.
Continue reading “Divided Opinion”