The Picture of Dorian Gray Review: A Filtered, Botoxed Nightmare You Can’t Look Away From
Sarah Snook slays as every character in this one-woman reinvention of Wilde’s classic - with big screens, bigger themes, and even bigger cheekbones.
By Daiane Quicine
Oscar Wilde warned us over a hundred years ago about the dangers of obsessive self-worship, and guess what? We didn’t listen.
Now, we’ve got ring lights, reels, and enough injectable filler to flood the Thames. Enter The Picture of Dorian Gray, the 2025 solo stage adaptation that reanimates Wilde’s novel with one actress, dozens of characters, and a mountain of LED screens—and it might be the most timely piece of theater I’ve seen this decade.
Yes, it’s a one-woman show. Yes, it’s two hours long with no intermission. And no, you won’t be bored for a second.
Sarah Snook Is the Moment
Let’s be clear: Sarah Snook isn’t just acting—she’s eating. As Dorian, Lord Henry, Basil, Sibyl, and literally every other character in the story, Snook bounces between personas with insane precision. One second, she’s your problematic fave, the next, she’s a withering moral compass. And, by the end, she’s a full-blown villain you somehow still root for.
She’s charming, scary, ridiculous, seductive, and hilarious—all while being filmed live on stage. This Dorian doesn’t just look into the mirror; she stares directly into the lens of a 4K camera, and winks.
The Screens Are Alive and They’re Judging You
Props? Who Needs Props When You’ve Got a 12-Foot Face
This isn’t your dad’s minimalist stage show. Giant screens follow Snook around like a jealous ex - filming her, reflecting her, sometimes turning against her. The tech isn’t just background flair; it’s baked into the performance like contour powder.
The live camera operators aren’t hidden either. They’re on stage, reminding you that in this version of Dorian Gray, the portrait isn’t just a creepy painting in the attic. It’s your IG grid. It’s FaceTune. It’s that one selfie you’ve kept on Hinge for three years. Wilde’s message about moral decay through beauty obsession hits harder when filtered through digital vanity - and this production gets that.
Still Wilde, But Not Dusty
Here’s the kicker: they don’t gut the text. Wilde’s lines are mostly intact, yet it doesn’t feel like a Victorian English Lit class. It feels alive. It feels… petty, in the best way. There’s camp. There’s horror. Some jokes hit like side-eyes from your messiest friend.
It’s actually kind of wild (pun intended) how relevant it all feels. Dorian’s quest for eternal youth feels like scrolling TikTok and realizing everyone’s 22 and glowing while you’re still wearing the same hoodie from 2016. The production doesn’t modernize the story with slang or setting—it just lets the tech and Snook’s charisma do the work.
In Conclusion: This Is Theater for the Instagram Age
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a brutal, funny, and unexpectedly moving reminder that in our quest to stay beautiful, we might be rotting underneath the filter. And while that sounds bleak, it’s also an absolute blast to watch.
This kind of theater doesn’t just entertain - it slaps you with a ring light and asks, “What’s left of your soul when all anyone sees is the surface?”
Buy tickets and see what everyone’s raving about! It's playing at the Music Box Theatre in NYC for a limited time.