The Picture of Dorian Gray Isn’t Just a Gothic Classic—It’s a Mirror for 2025
by Avery Anderson
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was scandalous when it first hit shelves in 1890. It was cited in Wilde’s own trial for “gross indecency,” censored for its supposed immorality, and denounced as dangerous to polite society. Fast-forward to 2025, and Wilde’s novel of beauty, corruption, and decay still has a way of making people squirm.
That’s exactly why TheatreFor is putting it on stage now.
“From my viewpoint, Dorian Gray is as relevant now as it was in 1890, when it was written,” director Michael Cote said. “Our society is facing many of the same issues as England did at that time; social and economic inequality, puritanical (conservative) concepts creating widespread disregard for personal freedoms, etc.”
If that feels familiar, it should. Book bans are sweeping the country. Statehouses are arguing over what students can read. Wilde’s words land with uncanny precision: “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
An Adaptation Decades in the Making
TheatreFor isn’t trotting out a dusty museum piece. The director has been chasing a stage-worthy version since the 1970s, and finally landed on a script that spans more than two decades of development, from 1988 to 2009.
“Most, like many of the screen versions, didn’t live up to the power of the novel,” Cote said. “This version … is the most powerful version I’ve found. Some might find it disturbing. I hope that it is more thought-provoking, that people will look deeper than the surface. That it’s not just gratuitous in its presentation, but find it to be a lesson in morality.”
The production leans into unconventional staging, combining lighting tricks and projections with physical paintings to create the most iconic—and most impossible—image in literature: the portrait that grows monstrous while Dorian himself stays beautiful. “To say more would give things away that are better left to be seen,” Michael teased.
Beauty, Evil, and Epstein’s Island
The thing about Dorian Gray is that it isn’t really about a painting. It’s about what we hide, and what we indulge when we think no one’s looking.
“We are trying to cover all of those [themes],” Cote explained. “Examples of real-time issues pop up all over the place. (Equate Dorian’s Hellfire Club to Epstein’s Island.) Dorian asks ‘have you ever thought about doing something ... Evil?’ There appears to be no little amount of that happening today.”
If Wilde’s London elite lived in velvet-draped salons, today’s corruption comes with private jets and island retreats. Either way, the rot is the same.
Getting Their Hands Dirty
For all its Gothic excess, this production is also an experiment in trust. “The main thing is that there are performers in the area that don’t mind ‘getting their hands dirty,’” Michael said. “This play pushes boundaries … My cast and team have jumped in with wild abandon and are really giving it all they have in some difficult situations. And doing it with a smile.”
Why It Matters
TheatreFor has built a reputation on leaning into work that other stages might sidestep. For this director, the ultimate hope is that audiences walk away recognizing that boldness.
“Primarily, I would like the audience to appreciate that TheatreFor isn’t afraid to handle sensitive topics like these and handle them with professionalism and poise. And that seeing that want to come back for more. We pride ourselves on giving our audiences the best shows possible … shows they probably wouldn’t see anywhere else.”
And if the play sparks something beyond the theatre doors? Even better. “I’d like the audience to realize and compare the situations in the play and how they relate to what’s happening in the world today.”
Because Wilde’s story, as TheatreFor reminds us, isn’t just about vanity and beauty. It’s about what happens when a society decides that looking away is easier than looking deeper.