Wilde celebration at Brewery Arts (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Wilde celebration at Brewery Arts

PATRICK Marley and Genevieve Allenbury celebrate the 150th anniversary of Oscar Wilde's birth by presenting Wilde at Heart at Brewery Arts, Cirencester on Friday, March 19 at 8pm.

The story of Oscar Wilde's life was more dramatic than anything he could possibly have written. "I thought Life was going to be a brilliant comedy. I found it to be a revolting and repellent tragedy," said Wilde.

This is a look at life, loves and above all, the works of one of the most celebrated and controversial literary figures of the 19th century.

In the course of the narrative the audience meets Wilde, his friends, his enemies and many more colourful characters of the period, taken from letters, diaries, reminiscences and contemporary accounts all illustrating his theory: that Life and Nature imitate Art.

Those who think they know all there is to know about Wilde, and those who know next to nothing, stand to gain much from this account of a man who, according to fellow Irishman W B Yeats was 'the half-finished sketch of a great man,' destroyed by personal flaw and by a hypocritical society.

In the words of Sir Derek Jacobi, "This is a delightful evening, full of drama and emotion - beautifully compiled and thrillingly performed."

Tickets from the box office on 01285 655522.