The Trials of Oscar Wilde

European Arts Company returns to Crescent Arts Centre with a dramatisation of the libel and criminal trials of Wilde. The play is written by Merlin Holland who is Oscar Wilde's grandson and the show is supported by Stonewall.

Thursday 14 February 1895 was the triumphant opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest and the zenith of Wilde's career. Less than 100 days later, he found himself a common prisoner sentenced to two years hard labour.

'The truth is rarely pure and never simple.' - Oscar Wilde

So what happened during the trials and what did Wilde say? Was he persecuted or the author of his own downfall? Using the original words spoken in court, we can feel what it was like to be in the company of a flawed genius - as this less than ideal husband was suddenly reduced to a man of no importance.




'This is half archeological curiosity, half timeless fun...a perfectly judged rendering by European Arts Company' - Libby Purves in The Times.c