2009 tour:-

June 4 - 6, Bromley
June 9 - 13, Milton Keynes
June 19 - 21, Ravenna, Italy
June 24 - 25. Parma, Italy
June 30 - July 4, Bradford
July 7 - 19, London: Sadler's Wells
July 28 - August 2, Moscow, Chekhov Festival
Sept 15 - 19, Leicester
Sept 22 - 26, Sheffield
Sept 29 - Oct 3, Glasgow
Oct 6 - 10, Wimbledon
Oct 20 - 24, Salford
Oct 27 - 31, Cardiff
Nov 3 - 7, High Wycombe
Nov 10 - 14, Birmingham
Nov 17 - 21, Woking
Nov 24 - 28, Ostend/Brussels
Dec 1 - 5, Bucharest

Oscar Wilde’s classic gothic fable has long held a fascination for me. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” can be viewed as a “black fairy tale”: a Victorian melodrama which tells the story of an exceptionally alluring young man who makes a pact with the devil and remains forever young whilst his portrait ages grotesquely. In a contemporary context, it can also be read as a modern morality tale concerning our obsession with youth and celebrity. The destructive power of beauty, the blind pursuit of pleasure and the darkness and corruption that lie beneath the charming façade; the themes behind Wilde’s cautionary tale have never been more timely. It was this scenario that I brought to composer, Terry Davies. Could we set Wilde’s darkest tale in the image-obsessed world of contemporary art, politics and fashion? A place where the “beautiful people” crown Dorian as the season’s “It Boy”. What kind of music would serve our story?

Finding ourselves completely out of our comfort zones, we explored the world of contemporary music in all its enormous variety, to find the perfect sound world for “Dorian”. As is usual with Terry, there was not one particular sound or style at all, but an eclectic mix of infectious rhythms and riffs, haunting melodies, witty instrumentation and above all, a supremely theatrical sensibility that serves every mood of the story that I wanted to tell.

I always point out to the dancers that, in the absence of words, the music is their “script”, and Terry understands that too. One of my early concerns with this story was that the three main protagonists, Dorian, Basil and Lady H (our version of Lord Henry in the novel), are all rather unsympathetic characters. Their selfish lives are all about surface, ambition and self-gratification. But listen to Terry’s music for these characters and you start to understand their inner lives, their internal conflicts and get an insight into their souls. As I said, this musical “script” has given the story not only its atmosphere and energy but also its heart.

Matthew Bourne May 2009