Wilmslow Guild Players' next production is Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, which is an adaptation of a short story by Oscar Wilde.
The play is about Lord Arthur Savile, who is about to be married to Sybil Merton. He is introduced by Lady Windermere to a cheiromantist who reads his palm and tells him that it is in his future that he will be a murderer. He decides he has no right to be married until he has committed the murder. But that is easier said than done...
The play has been specially adapted from Oscar Wilde's short story by Guild Players member Charlie Cook. "I love Oscar Wilde," says Charlie, "and I have adapted another book, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', on a previous occasion.
"Oscar Wilde plays have always proved popular with audiences, and I enjoy bringing other works to their attention. The only current adaption of Lord Arthur is one by Constance Cox which, though a fine story, concentrates on one of the minor characters to the detriment of the rest of the story. I wanted to redress this. This story is only a short story, so I have added favourite scenes from other stories, and quotes from his letters."
The original story moves around London, so Charlie has adapted it to bring all the action to one set – The Drawing Room of Lord Arthur Savile.
"In addition," says Charlie, "the ending in the book is difficult to stage so I have slightly changed it – hopefully still to the satisfaction of fans of the story."
The play has been entirely cast from existing members of Wilmslow Guild Players, or new members who attended the audition – which is a credit to their membership since there are no less than twelve people on stage.
The play runs from 26th to 29th October at Wilmslow Guild on Bourne Street. Tickets cost £6 and can be booked by calling 01625 520126 or emailing [email protected].
Photo: Mr Podger (Lee Tipton) reads Lord Arthur Savile's palm (Ian Tyler), watched by Sybil (Becky Keen).
This is a member post by Bill Beton.
