De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail is an adaptation by Gregory Prest of the famous letter that Wilde wrote, page by page, to Lord Alfred Douglas while he was in prison.  It opened; a world premiere, last night in a Soulpepper production directed by Prest at the Young Centre.

I want to call it a “one man show” but it isn’t quite.  True, Damien Atkins, in another stunning performance (see Here Lies Henry), is on stage for the full 100 minutes and carries the whole thing but he does have considerable help from Jonathan Corkal-Astorgal as Robbie and Colton Curtis as Bosie.

It’s mostly about the injustices that Wilde believes he has suffered.  The three most uttered words are “I blame myself” but, in fact, he blames everyone and everything but himself.  Atkins does this quite brilliantly.  He inhabits each of the people he (Wilde) describes and gives each a distinct persona and even a distinct physical presence and singing voice.  It’s a tour de force.

The supporting elements are extremely well done.  The set design, lighting and projections are terrific.  We start with a claustrophobic cell outlined in bars of light.  It opens out both to create more space and a backdrop for some truly terrifying projections; mocking crowds, counsel and judge at Wilde’s trial and so on.

The support from Corkal-Astorgal and Curtis is important and quite surprising in some ways.  The former is definitely part of the action but he also plays keyboards for the musical numbers (music and lyrics by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson) which come up in a surprising variety of styles all handled remarkably well by Atkins.  Curtis not only does a fine job of portraying the self centred Bosie (possibly even more narcissistic than Wilde!) but reveals himself as a classically trained, and very good, dancer.  There are some seriously impressive dance moves, especially given the limited space.

Of course, Wilde, the man, is a mass of contradictions.  Why did he not “play the game” and go abroad as 99.9% of wealthy homosexuals would have done in his situation, to the great relief of the Powers that Be; thus avoiding prison and premature death?  Why did he believe that his “friends” would rally round in the face of near universal condemnation?  Why did he choose to abase himself. Gregg and Atkins can’t answer questions like that.  They are unanswerable.  But they can raise them in a powerful and compelling way.  That’s what makes this great theatre.  It will likely be talked about for years.

De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail plays at the Young Centre until February 23rd.

Photo credits: Dahlia Katz