The Trials of Oscar Wilde by Merlin Holland and John O'Connor

Merlin Holland and John O’Connor's dramatisation of the former's grandfather, Oscar Wilde's sensational trial is tense and rich in detail. Following the discovery in 2000 of long-forgotten transcripts of the trial, Holland and O’Connor's play is the closest one can get to actually being at the Old Bailey during those fateful months.

This is a piece that demands much of its cast. Most of the action takes place in lengthy and verbose cross examination or monologues that would require performers of considerable skill to lift off the page. Wilde himself (almost never off stage) is a gift for any actor. Here he is passionate, flippant, amusing and irritating, running the gamut from ostentatious and confident to utterly broken. Much of the success of a production of this play would be down to his casting: like Hamlet or Hedda it would be unwise to tackle it without a suitable star.