Sarah Snook 'unmissable' in West End, critics say

Actress Sarah Snook has been warmly praised by critics for her performance in a one-woman stage adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Succession star plays 26 characters in the show, which is based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel and will run in London's West End until May.

In a five-star review, the Guardian said it was "beautiful, brilliant and maniacally unmissable".

But the Times said that while "Sarah Snook impresses, the script doesn't".

The adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel is an unusual proposition, even in a West End that has seen a string of one-person shows in the last two years.

Technology plays a central role, with Snook surrounded by a camera crew so her performance can be beamed on to overhead screens.

Often, these screens display pre-recorded performances of Snook portraying other roles, so that characters are able to interact with one another.

"Often it's hard to see where the live footage ends and the pre-recorded imagery begins, or quite who is filming her at any given time," he wrote in a four-star review.

"Whether you enjoy this show as a star vehicle, a Wildean debate on morality versus self-expression, or a cutting-edge piece of mixed-media art, it's an extraordinary event."

The use of cameras, screens and selfie filters feeds into the play's themes of vanity. In one scene, Snook is seen playing around with her character's digital appearance until the doctored image looks grotesque.

"You're not only in the grip of a dazzling conceit (image-consciousness lying at the heart of the tale) but in the hands of an actress of exceptional pluck and mercurial power," he continued.

First published in 1890, Wilde's novel centres on Gray, a young man who makes a deal to retain his youth and beauty, while a painted portrait of him begins to age instead.

Gray's actions in real life begin to have an impact on the portrait, and as the character feels increasingly empty and soulless, he begins to grapple with what he has given up.

Director Kip Williams "has the super-smart idea of packaging Wilde's Gothic classic for our own age - a world obsessed with image where you can curate your life, your likes and your looks on the smartphone in your hand", she wrote.

"The third-person narration and melodramatic twists do begin to grate", she added, "and you miss the society of other actors - which is maybe part of the point."

There was also some scepticism from the Times' Clive Davis, who praised Snook's "energy and concentration" but awarded the show three stars overall.

"The tale unfolds with next to no variation in tone," he suggested. "For all the bravura camerawork, we might as well be watching the Victorian equivalent of Acorn Antiques.

"Like a modern-day Instagrammer, Dorian has fun toying with selfie filters as a way of masking the corruption of his soul. The self-referential jokiness wears thin after 30 minutes or so, let alone two hours."

Davis also took issue with ticket prices of up to £250, saying the West End risks becoming "just another upmarket boutique".

"Her confidence on stage is breathtaking; she owns the space, elegantly playing with all the technology, never being drowned by it," she continued.

Snook is best known for her role in Succession as Shiv Roy, one of four children battling for control of their bad-tempered father Logan Roy's media empire.

The final series of the show won a string of Emmy Awards last month, including best drama actress for Snook.

"Even the implacable Logan Roy would smile in delighted amazement if he could see this," Fiona Mountford of iNews wrote of Snook's stage performance.

She described The Picture of Dorian Gray as "a show that is dazzling on every possible level", adding: "I struggle to recall ever seeing a more bravura performance in the West End."

Writing about the tone of the adaptation, Time Out's Andrzej Lukowski said it was "literally one of the campest things I've ever seen, a show that makes Mamma Mia! look like a monster truck rally".

"Wilde was of course, famously both gay and a waspish wit," he said in his four-star review, "and Dorian Gray contains some of his most famous aphorisms.

"But there is something particularly revelatory about adaptor-director Kip Williams staging it as pretty close to a celebrity drag king show."

"She must perform in real time, react to the recorded footage and manipulate the technology herself in some scenes. She speaks in dialogue but also narrates omnisciently.

"Some scenes require athleticism, others sudden stillness. It demands an exacting synchronicity and she gets it pitch perfect, powering through 26 characters."