Theater: Irish Repertory Theatre / 132 West 22nd Street, New York, NY, 10011
Synopsis:
Irish Repertory Theater presents the world premiere of Thomas Kilroy's My Scandalous Life, a new play about Oscar Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. John Going directs the production, which stars Des Keogh and Fiana Tiobin. Set in 1944 in the middle of the Second World War, the play tells the story of Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's beloved Bosie, who, overcome with memories of the notorious love affair that rocked England, struggles to examine the mysteries of his own identity. Forever linked to Wilde... the scandal... the violent trials which led to Wilde's imprisonment... the guilt... and the subsequent half-century he lived after Wilde, who died alone in Paris in 1900, Bosie searches for the very personal meaning of a life forever the subject of endless conjecture. As his wife Olive lies dying upstairs, Lord Douglas displays unexpected depths of feelings, as he copes with his marriage, his memories of Oscar, and the tragic fate of his only son.
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February 14, 2011: It seems a worthy enough pursuit for a playwright to shift Lord Alfred Douglas, a k a Bosie, into the spotlight, rescuing Oscar Wilde’s troublesome bit of crumpet from the sidelines. But instead, Thomas Kilroy’s “My Scandalous Life” buries Bosie in the indignity of dramaturgical stodginess.
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February 15, 2011: He was the man Oscar Wilde went to prison for: his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, the handsome, overprivileged son of the Marquess of Queensbury whom Wilde and others affectionately called Bosie.
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February 6, 2011: My Scandalous Life at the Irish Repertory Theater is the story of Lord Alfred Douglas and the struggles that overwhelmed him in the last half-century of his life. Nicknamed quot;Bosie" by his mother, Douglas wore several hats during his 75 years. He was an acclaimed poet, writer and editor, but the top hat belonged to his intimate friendship with Oscar Wilde. It was this notorious relationship and its aftermath, including his own court trials and public disdain, that haunted Bosie.
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February 7, 2011: The self-delusions and bitterness of a man well into his golden years take center stage in Thomas Kilroy's bio-drama My Scandalous Life, now playing at The Irish Repertory Theatre. The piece focuses on Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas, the poet perhaps best remembered today as Oscar Wilde's lover "Bosie." While imagining what the man might have reflected on as he looked back at his event-filled life could make for riveting drama, the play never truly catches fire.
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February 6, 2011: Thomas Kilroy's "My Scandalous Life" places Lord Alfred Douglas, the infamous lover of Oscar Wilde, center stage; the effervescent Oscar is forced to take an unaccustomed back seat. And for quite a time it seems that Lord Alfred, or "Bosie," as he was known to family and friends, is interesting enough to be spotlighted. But as the play proceeds—and as Bosie proves, even in his own words, to be an unreliable witness and a rather miserable human being—the wish for Oscar to brighten the proceedings becomes a heartfelt one. Unhappily, what was once the play's strength becomes its burden. Nevertheless, that Kilroy is able to make Bosie sympathetic even for a time is some kind of achievement. In the assured hands of actor Des Keogh, this is a portrait that Oscar enthusiasts will relish.
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