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Ruthless People: Ruthless - Arches Lane Theatre

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What is it about the Madoff’s that writers can’t resist writing about? Sure, it may have been the largest Ponzi scheme to collapse (so far), but there isn’t much more to explore. Or is there? In Ruthless by writer Roger Steinmann, Ruth Madoff is imagined as a wronged, gun-toting woman anchored in the past while trying to move on with her life. It’s not entirely successful but a fascinating look at life and wig choices, It’s currently playing at the theatre now known as the Arches Lane Theatre in Battersea. Ruth Madoff, played by Emily Swain, is here wearing a wig. I thought it was an odd look until I reviewed how closely it matched the photo of her interview in  The New York Times .  Typically, it’s the sort of wig you might see worn by Ladies on a night out in central London, not someone who once had over $80m in assets. With Bernie in Jail and both her sons now dead - one by suicide and one due to cancer, she is setting a table for the men who have left her. And ordering p...

Lighter shades of grey: The Picture of Dorian Gray @Trafstudios


Something seems missing in this new adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, currently playing at Trafalgar Studios. Missing is any sense of excitement or thrills you would expect from Oscar Wilde's story about a beautiful man's hedonistic descent.

The story was a scandal when it was first published. This new adaptation by Merlin Holland (Wilde's grandson) and John O'Connor, restores some homoerotic passages from the original manuscript. But as fascinating as they are, the overall piece is a bit of a damp squib.


It is perplexing that more was not made of the the added homoeroticism. There are no kisses, no sexual liaisons. It all talk and no show in this passionless production, despite the dialogue suggesting otherwise.

Guy Warren-Thomas as Dorian with his sharp and delicate features makes a fine Dorian, but the remaining three performers seem miscast. They also have the thankless task of playing over twenty roles and dragging a few pieces of furniture about the set.

If it is an economic necessity to have four cast members, it would be better to remove some of the superfluous roles so that the differentiation between characters did not have to rely on the type of hat or gloves the actor is wearing. Future shows that reduce casts should also seriously look at equal gender casting so we don't have to have suffer male actors playing pantomime dames in drama pieces.

Downstairs at the Trafalgar Studios is a great intimate space and at times it feels like they are acting in your lap. But with its short scenes and huge cast, perhaps this is a piece that might play better as a television movie... It is a pity that it has not been adapted to better suit its current space (and its economic confines).

The Picture of Dorian Grey is at Trafalgar Studios until 13 February.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

Photo credit: Production photo by Emily Hyland

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