By William Wolf

THE JUDAS KISS  Send This Review to a Friend

Despite all of the advances in civil rights for homosexuals, lesbians and transgender men and women, there remain issues that keep bursting into the spotlight about continued discrimination. Thus, a play such as David Hare’s “The Judas Kiss” remains topical, even though it deals with events at the end of the 19th century. The drama, currently getting a revival at BAM’s Harvey Theater in Brooklyn, has been engrossingly staged by director Neil Armfield with a superb performance as Oscar Wilde by Rupert Everett.

“The Judas Kiss” was performed on Broadway in 1998 With Liam Neeson as Wilde. This production comes by way of the The UK’s Chichester Festival Theatre in association with Robert Fox, Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Hampstead Theatre Productions.

We see Wilde at two stages, at first just before his imprisonment for homosexuality in 1895, and then, following his release from prison, in fading days of his life during a stay in Naples. The portrait Hare presents of the towering literary figure, whose life was wrecked by the anti-homosexual bias in Britain at the time, is basically very sad. (Note: It wasn’t until 1967 that homosexuality no longer was criminal in England.)

A sexual atmosphere is established at the start of “The Judas Kiss.” A male and female servant, both nude, are having sex in a hotel, where Wilde is due to arrive. Later, when Wilde is in Naples, we see his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie), played by Charlie Rowe, having had sex with a well built and hung Italian named Galileo (Tom Colley). Bosie and Galileo are seen casually au natural.

The play is endowed with plentiful discussion, some of it flashing Wilde’s renowned wit, but mainly involving getting to know central characters in Wilde’s life and the facing of decisions under pressure. The smart thing to do for Wilde would have been to leave England to avoid punishment. But Wilde did not want to flee.

We get to know his close friend Robert Ross, forthrightly played by Cal MacAninch, and, of course, Wilde’s famous lover Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie. Rowe portrays Bosie as a self-indulgent, unlikable, arrogant playboy, but intricately and emotionally involved with Wilde and financially important to him as well.

An especially poignant scene is in Naples, when Bosie tells Wilde that he is leaving, and as he departs one senses the void that will be left. The picture of Wilde sitting alone is wrenching, with Everett’s acting providing maximum impact, rendering him a shell of the vigorous character he appeared to be in the first act.

Dale Ferguson’s set design is minimal, allowing us to focus primarily on the intertwined characters and the substance of what Hare is imparting. One comes away with admiration for Everett’s performance and a fresh view of the tragedy of what Wilde had to endure in the face of the vicious prejudice of his time, and the devastating complications it brought to his life and relationships. At BAM’s Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn. Phone: 718-636-4182.

  

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